After the dinner, the duo snuggled on the living room couch watching horror movie. Initially, Ji Hyo rejected profusely but then gave in when Jong Kook tried making a cute pout. He threatened to pout everyday if Ji Hyo declined to watch, making the irritated girl rolled her eyes in annoyance.

The vampire-theme movie started and Ji Hyo kept screaming at the not-so-scary plots. She snuggled closer to Jong Kook and hid behind his back. And of course, this delighted Jong Kook who clapped at the chance of being at such close proximity with his dream girl.

Even though Ji Hyo could not see the scene, she could still hear the horrifying music. Thus, she covered her ears, squeezed shut her eyes and hid in Jong Kook’s embrace.

As the movie rolled on to its , showing the most horrifying scene, Jong Kook was surprised at the silence. He turned to look at Ji Hyo and found out that the baby gal was fast asleep. Shaking his head, Jong Kook switched off the television and carried Ji Hyo back to her room.

Jong Kook gently laid Ji Hyo on her bed and silently withdrew his arms. He was about to stand up when he caught Ji Hyo’s sudden weird expression. It appeared that Ji Hyo was having a nightmare. Her eyebrows were knitted together in anxiousness and she was shaking her head wildly. Next, her arms and legs were thrashing around violently and she screamed in fright. “Jong Kook…! Jong Kook ah…! Jong Kook oppa…! No… No… Noooooooo!!!”

Thinking that Ji Hyo was spooked by the horror movie and was having a nightmare due to that, Jong Kook sat on the bed and patted Ji Hyo’s arm soothingly, attempting to calm her down.

“Ji Hyo… Ji Hyo ya, don’t be scare. I’m here to accompany you. Come, open your eyes and you will see your handsome Jong Kook oppa…”

Gradually, Ji Hyo stopped writhing. Jong Kook’s soothing voice was like a source of light and support for the lost girl. Timidly, she opened her eyes, trying hard to adjust to the darkness.

Jong Kook felt a pang of guilt for insisting on watching the horror movie as he stared into her teary and fearful eyes. His heart wrenched in pain as he saw the vulnerable side of Ji Hyo. He had forgotten that no matter how strong the Ace might look on the outside, she was still a little girl.

Ji Hyo whimpered softly and raised her right hand to trace the face feature of Jong Kook as if to confirm he was well and alive. Jong Kook grabbed her hand and pulled Ji Hyo up into a tight hug.

Secured in Jong Kook’s almost bone-crushing hug, Ji Hyo sobbed uncontrollably. The nightmare was not the reason she was so terrified but she could not share her burden with anyone for fear of risking their life. Ji Hyo would do anything to protect her loved ones, even if it meant death, she would gladly embrace it.

“Oppa… Jong Kook oppa, could you accompany me tonight? I’m scared…” Using her nightmare as the excuse, Ji Hyo whined pitifully and succeeded in persuading Jong Kook to stay.

Jong Kook went to his room to take his sleeping items and returned to Ji Hyo’s room. He hesitated at the door before suggesting, “Ji Hyo, I’ll sleep on the fl---”

“No!” Ji Hyo stood up and dragged Jong Kook to her Queen’s size bed. Though it might be crammed, Ji Hyo persisted stubbornly, claiming that she was scared sleeping alone after watching the horror movie.

Out of guilt and protectiveness, Jong Kook had no choice but to accept her proposal. He tried to ease his well-built body towards the far end of the bed, making space for the petite girl. Jong Kook slept facing away from Ji Hyo. He wanted to hug his baby gal to sleep but it was too inappropriate for opposite genders to sleep so close together. Jong Kook did not fall asleep immediately; instead, he stayed alert to see if Ji Hyo required any assistance.

Ji Hyo stared at the muscular back of the young man who was breathing evenly in his deep slumber. Somehow, she felt safe by his presence. She had feigned sleep earlier as she knew Jong Kook was wide awake, quietly guarding her and her heart swelled at his thoughtfulness.

Ji Hyo felt blessed as regardless of which universe she was in, she was being loved. But she knew that she could not accept their love as it was too heavy with burden which suffocated her. Hence, she indirectly reciprocated their love through the uncommon way, using her own way to protect and love them.

Tears rolled down Ji Hyo’s perfect feature while she silently mouthed her apology and raised her right hand over Jong Kook’s head to cast a spell.

---

“Good morning!” A young boy chirped cheerfully and flashed his perfect white teeth at the puzzled trio. Dong Hoon, Gary and Kwang Soo were on their way to college when they were stopped by a stranger.

“Do we know you?” Kwang Soo crudely blurted out straightaway which clearly offended the boy.

“You might not know me now but you will in the near future as I’m going to rule the universe.” The boy smirked and replied confidently.

“What?” Kwang Soo yelled in disbelief and grabbed the collar of the arrogant guy to his eye-level, causing the shorter boy to tip-toe. “Who do you think you are?”

The said guy looked straight into the tall boy’s eyes without fear. “I’m Kim Jong Hyun, the ultimate heir of the universe.”

His speech had shaken Kwang Soo so much that he released his grip without warning and the poor guy dropped to the floor with a thump. The boy landed hard on his buttocks and yelped in pain. “Wait till I succeeded the throne, I’ll execute you right away!”

The trio was dumb-founded. First, a boy not more than fourteen years old appeared out of nowhere, claiming he was the rightful heir of the universe. Second, there was still half a year to go before the grand day. Third, they could not and did not want to believe that the Royal King and Queen had appointed an extremely spoilt brat to lead their universe.

“Wait a minute, young man; do you have any evidence that you are the successor?” Dong Hoon, the first one to recover from the shock was quick to question the stranger. “How do we know if you are not an imposter?”

“I already told you I’m KIM Jong Hyun!” The young man retorted angrily. “I’m the long-lost cousin of ---”

“Hey, damn you, imposter!” Another young man appeared suddenly from nowhere and punched Jong Hyun down. Almost immediately, the injured boy sprang back to his feet and launched himself at the new boy.

“Wow, wow, wow… Wait a minute, hold on, hold on…” Gary stepped forward to separate the two boys who were engaged in a fierce wrestle.

“Now, who are you?” Gary asked the newcomer.

“I’m Kim Kyu Jong, the illegitimate son of the late Royal King.” The new boy answered while dusting off his clothes, earning shocking looks from the trio.

But before the trio could interrogate further, a group of quarrelling boys were heading their way. “Oh please, not another one claiming to be the heir!” Dong Hoon dramatically pleaded and held his head.

“SILENCE!” Kwang Soo bellowed at the group of young flower boys who was rudely treating the front entrance of the palace like a fish market as they were extremely noisy. And the effect was instant. The boys stopped their conversation immediately.

“Alright, boys, line up in one row and introduce yourself.” Gary directed which they followed quickly and the order was finally restored.

“I’ve already introduced myself. I’m Kim Jong Hyun, the long-lost cousin of the late Royal Prince.” With both hands in his jeans pocket, the first boy introduced once again.

“I’m Kim Kyu Jong, the illegitimate son of the late Royal King.” The second boy said and bowed politely.

“I’m Kim Hyun Joong, the real blood younger brother of the late Royal Prince but was hidden for years for fear of exposing my identity.” A much more mature boy said in an authoritative tone.

“I’m Kim Hyung Jun, cousin of the late Royal Prince.” A handsome boy introduced with a polite smile.

“I’m Kim Jae Joong. I’m actually an orphan who was taken in by the late Royal King and Queen, secretly trained to be the next heir.” A pretty boy smiled and saluted the trio.

“I’m Kim Sung Gyu. My father was the elder brother of the late Royal King.” Another boy tilted his head with an arrogant look.

“I’m Kim Myung Soo.” The last boy coolly introduced shortly without a smile.

Dong Hoon, Gary and Kwang Soo stared bewildered at each other, unable to believe that so many ‘rightful heirs’ starting sprouting out like bamboo shoots from nowhere. They had no idea how to differentiate who was the authentic heir and the only thing they could do was to kneel on the ground and looked up high upon the sky.

“HEEEEEEEEELP…!!!”

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Hi everyone! I'm back with another chapter! ^_^
But sorry guys, I won't be able to update during this weekend as I'll be on a cruise...
I'll try to update on next Monday with a long chapter!

As usual, do let me know what you think of the chapter... ^_~