“Kang Gary! Ha Dong Hoon! Where are you guys?” Kwang Soo dropped his abnormally tall and exhausted body onto the couch. It was already eight at night and yet he had just returned from school.

Unable to ignore the rumbling sounds coming from his stomach, Kwang Soo got up and entered the kitchen to grab a slice of pizza from the fridge. Then he picked up his bag from the couch and walked into the library searching for his buddies.

The three of them had been doing research in the old antique library ever since witnessing a bizarre phenomenon one week ago. It was exactly at four forty-four in the afternoon when a lightning suddenly flashed across the clear blue sky and thunders boomed extremely loud during the sunny day. The incident only happened once and everything was back to normal.

However, a feeling of indescribable uneasiness sprouted in Gary, Dong Hoon and Kwang Soo. The trio went to seek help from the kingdom’s adviser. But Joong Ki was unable to answer their queries. Hence, the four young men worked hard in the library trying to explain the weird event.

For the past few days, they flipped through almost all the thick books in the library but their queries remained unanswered. They were getting disheartening as time went by.

“Argh…! This is getting nowhere, we can’t find any answer!” Dong Hoon shouted in frustration. “Gosh, I’m seriously damn tired! It’s so difficult to juggle studies with routine work! The rightful heir of the kingdom would only be back to claim his throne one year later! Might as well just kill me now! Please, our late King and Queen, if you’re looking at us from the heaven above, can you pity us? Kindly guide us and give us advice…”

Gary, Kwang Soo and Joong Ki stopped their work and sighed in unison. Indeed, they were exhausted by shouldering the heavy responsibilities. But they did not know of what to do except to wait patiently for the comeback of the rightful heir of the kingdom. Day by day, year by year, they persevered, never once stopping to doubt the possibility of having the miracle. However, with patience wearing thin and had no one of higher authority to share the burden with, one could not blame the youngsters for having second thoughts.

Dong Hoon slumped dejectedly to the ground, dropping onto the wooden floor with a loud thud. Empty sound resounded in the large library and the four fellows realised that it was empty beneath the flooring. Excited at the new, unintended discovery, their original work was forgotten and abandoned as they gathered around Dong Hoon, trying to find a way to open the wooden plank.

Gary went to retrieve his tool bag and selected a few tools to creak open the wooden plywood. It wasn’t long before he was able to remove the small wooden plank. It was only a small compartment beneath the floor. In there, it laid a dusty and old-looking book.

On the cover, it was written – ‘The Diary of Cheon Sung Im’

Joong Ki carefully retrieved the well-hidden book from its hiding place. Without any exchange of words, the four of them sat round the study table, quietly examining the diary. The three young boys were hesitant in reading the journal as it was a girl’s belonging. Moreover, they were once friend with the owner of the diary.

Having of no relation with the girl, Joong Ki had nothing to worry about and gently flipped onto the first page.

“Dear Diary, I’m so sorry. A beautiful book should not be mine. Why? It’s because I’m a bad girl. No, Sung Im never does bad things. But people called me a bad girl. And now I know why. The Queen tells me that my daddy was a bad man. And that is why people think that I’m also a bad girl. The Queen is very good. She tells me that I must be a good girl and people will be better to me. I love her so much. If only she is my mum. My dad and mum died years ago. Why they did not bring Sung Im too? I have no one. I’m so lonely. But now I have you. You are given by the Queen as my birthday present!”

The four men felt sad at the girl’s misfortune. They were young at that time and they remembered bullying Sung Im as they believed that she was a bad girl as she had the blood traits of the Demon. They took a moment to reflect on their attitude before Joong Ki solemnly flipped onto the next few pages.

“Dear Diary, I can’t believe it! The Prince wants to be my friend! He is a cute boy and he says to me on his birthday. But his friends laughed at him and pulled him away. They are right, I’m a bad girl and the Prince should not play with me.”

On the page, a tear stain could be seen clearly. The four men pitied the girl and wanted to read more to know what caused the young and innocent girl to transform into a cruel murderer. They hoped to find clues or events that would lead to the tragedy. Feeling anxious, Joong Ki flipped to the last entry, hoping to know the reason.

“Dear Diary, I had the happiest three years of my life. I had become friends with Kim Jong Kook (the handsome Prince), Ha Dong Hoon (the shortie), Kang Gary (the boy who cannot lie) and Lee Kwang Soo (the super tall giraffe). Our friendship will end soon but I don’t regret as this is how I will repay the King and Queen for loving me all these years. I’m sorry, my boyfriend and friends. I want to say ‘I love all of you’ but I can’t say.”

Droplets of tear stains were visible on the last entry of Cheon Sung Im’s diary. Flipping through the entire diary, the four men could see how the little girl cherished her precious friendship and they could see no reason how the girl would want to murder her boyfriend. Judging from her last words, it seemed that Sung Im was going to repay the King and Queen for their love but why would she murder their only son, depriving them of parenthood? How could this cruel act served as a purpose of repaying? And why was Sung Im apologising to Jong Kook, Dong Hoon, Gary and Kwang Soo? And since she loved all of them, why couldn’t she voice out?

“Could Cheon Sung Im be wronged?” A tiny voice sounded in their head. But the little girl never bothered to clear her name and was acting so defiant and satisfactory at their Royal Prince being murdered.

The four men sat in silence around the study table, trying to sort their thoughts. A mystery was unresolved, and yet to their misery, another was added to their burden.

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Hi there everyone! I've updated another chapter today... But I'm sorry as there isn't any spartace moments.. >__<
Alright, can anyone figure out Ji Hyo's unsaid feelings? I've given karma points for those who had predicted the storyline...! ^_~