NARRATOR'S POV

"I... need to see Ahyoung. Let me out of here," a young man growled, banging his fists against the bars that caged him in. His lips were curled into a snarl at the sight of the woman who kept him imprisoned. She smiled sardonically, not even flinching at his outburst. She admired the man's fierce glare. His eyes held so much yearning, so much resentment.

"I don't think that can be arranged," she drawled, looking at him square in the eye.

Poor thing, the Queen smiled mockingly. Even if I did let you out, will you still be the same man Ahyoung once loved?

The woman turned to leave, a sashay of purple and gold robes. She left the man roaring with agony more than anything else, and she almost felt - sad.

And then her expression hardened. What are you thinking, Claudia? Now isn't the time to be soft.

With that thought in mind, she forced her eyes to be devoid of emotion, refusing to listen to the man's screams echoing throughout the dungeon.

----

Sooyeon woke up with a start.

For a moment all she saw was a bright light and a hazy blue. She thought she was dead, but then she blinked again and her eyes focused on the sky. It was peaceful and undisturbed. The girl felt at ease, even momentarily forgetting about where she was. Slowly, she brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and she let herself enjoy the moment.

Until-

"Oh, crap - Daehyun?" she shot up, blinking owlishly at her surroundings. Her mind registered trees, trees, and-

"Great. More trees. Wait, this feels familiar..." she muttered to herself, running a hand through her tangled locks. Her eyes came to rest at a body lying a few feet next to her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She made her way to Daehyun's side, finding him still asleep. She did a double take at his expression.

It was so serene. Not a trace of tension could be found on his face. Which kind of freaked her out a little.

"Oh my God, are you dead?" she blubbered, snatching his wrist up (rather ungracefully) and sighed when she felt his pulse. She put his hand down, and was about to stand but then his fingers curled around hers, stopping her movement.

She went as still as a rock, and for a minute she could not register what was happening. And then she looked at their intertwined hands, blushing a deep red. She was about to kick his for ual harrasment, but then she realised he was still fast asleep.

"Damn men," she muttered, though without malice. Sooyeon surprised herself. She sounded so defeated, which was unlike her brash personality. She could not decide if she hated or liked it, though. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on his hand and observed his expression.

He looked like a kid. Sooyeon had to admit - this side of him was rather endearing.

Her heart beat twice as fast, and she snapped out of her daze. Damn it, Sooyeon. Focus. What's with this sudden obsession with Jung Daehyun and his god-forsaken gorgeous face - and his hands - ah, damn it! To hell with these damn feelings!

She must've snorted or made a choking noise, because the boy in question stirred, blinking slowly.

Sooyeon looked at his - god-forsaken -eyes, slightly horrified to find him looking straight back into hers. And then his eyes moved downwards to their hands, and-

"UH AHAHAHA IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" she laughed - screamed, actually - hiding her hands behind her back. Daehyun could read her like a book, though. 

He was slightly disoriented, but recovered fast. Sooyeon waited for his reply, a tense silence hanging over her head.

"Where are we?" he asked as if he hadn't noticed their little moment, and Sooyeon mentally thanked the heavens for that.

She cleared and took a proper look at their surroundings. She stretched her limbs, saying, "Ah, I think I remember. It was the place where we found Shinhye, I think."

In front of them was a steep hill from where they fell down from the cove a while back. The cove, she assumed, was probably at the top of the hill. Sooyeon pursed her lips. Time sure went by fast - it seemed like just yesterday that she'd ridden on a part-pegasus-part-unicorn and saved the prince in distress. 

"How did we even get here?" Daehyun voiced, suddenly remembering last night's events. "We were in a whole different kingdom, weren't we?"

"The melody," Sooyeon remembered after a bit of thought. "We were affected too. We aren't kids, are we?"

He snorted at her deadpanned look, but he wondered about that. Why were they transported to Mato? 

"This must be where the kids went to, then." Daehyun deduced. "But where are they?"

She huffed. "Damn it. I don't know, the cove, maybe?" She looked in the direction of the said cove and furrowed her brows. That would be too easy...

"Wouldn't hurt to check, I guess," Daehyun shrugged, concern tinting his eyes. He walked over to Sooyeon and slyly put his arm around her shoulders. In an instant, his eyes were filled with mischief, and Sooyeon was very aware that he was close to her. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when the boy suddenly leaned close to her ear, lips curled slightly.

"I know what you did when I was asleep."

----

They walked towards the steep hill, a gap present between them, partly caused by a fuming Sooyeon. Daehyun hid his s