[1/3] TRIPLE UPDATE! Start here~ 

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On the top of the Bayan tree, deep within the Thana Garden, a little girl in a white dress could be seen swinging her legs back and forth, her light blonde hair waving ever so gently. The Thana Garden was one of the least favourable places to be in Paradise due to its gloomy and foggy atmosphere. The combination of massive thick trees and long vines with dead branches lying around here and there made it seem like a dead forest, even though everything was clearly alive. There was barely any sunlight in the garden, resulting in the lack of color and life within the place.

“There you are.”

Sunggyu's sudden appearance startled the girl, who would have fallen off the branch if not for him grabbing her arms.

“Oh my god. You scared me, Sunggyu oppa!” Jiyeon reprimanded Sunggyu.

Without a word, Sunggyu sat down next to her. Normally, Jiyeon would be the one starting the conversation. But when she recalled her sudden outburst due to jealousy earlier, she decided to remain silent out of embarrassment, half sulking on the side. Meanwhile, Sunggyu would secretly glance at Jiyeon every other minute. The boy couldn’t help but crack a smile seeing how cute Jiyeon was when she was sulking. It was rare for him to see the gentle and motherly Jiyeon sulking like the young girl that she was.  

“I’m surprised you like this kind of place.” Sunggyu decided to be the first to break the silence.

Jiyeon glanced at him – a little surprised that he actually opened his tightly closed mouth first for once – then proceeded to lock her eyes on the blurry landscape ahead.

“This place seems like it’s cursed, doesn’t it?” Jiyeon said after a brief silence. “Everything here is clearly alive, yet it seems so… lifeless. I’ve tried healing the forest, to bring it back to life, but to no avail.” She then looked at Sunggyu.

“Do you know why?”

The boy shook his head in reply.

“It’s because there is nothing wrong with it. It is alive. One cannot cure something that is perfectly fine to begin with.” Jiyeon smiled somewhat dejectedly as she turned back to the forest.

“Sometimes, things are just the way they are. You can’t try to correct them just because you deem them as wrong. Just like how I pointlessly tried to cure a fully healthy forest. Perhaps it was because I wanted to challenge myself. Or perhaps it was out of pride and arrogance, assuming that there is nothing I can’t cure with my power.” Jiyeon continued, “Who knows? But I like coming here when I’m alone.”

“It’s a little… unlike you,” Sunggyu commented, looking around the area that seemed like a monster could jump out at any time.

The girl chuckled. “It is, right? A girl like me, a Life element successor to boot… Well, let’s just say I have weird taste.” Jiyeon grinned cheekily as she stared at Sunggyu’s face.

*To think that I like someone like you. I do admit that I have very strange taste.* Jiyeon giggled at her own thought.

“What?” Sunggyu asked, seeing her laughing.

“Nothing,” Jiyeon immediately answered with a straight face, acting like nothing happened.

Sunggyu continued to stare at the girl, who awkwardly flashed him a very forced smile.

“Ah!” Sunggyu finally remembered his original purpose. Pulling out the little glass jar from his pocket, he handed it over to Jiyeon. “For you.”

Receiving the glass jar that seemed empty, Jiyeon looked at Sunggyu in confusion.

Shrugging, Sunggyu responded, “Don’t look at me. I don’t know. Jieun gave me that. I was told that this would make you happy.”

“Huh? Jieun?” Jiyeon stared at the jar uneasily. After a moment of debate, she lost to her curiousity and opened the jar. The moment the lid was lifted, a bunch of fireflies flew out like they had been waiting for this very moment. Together with the fog and the darkness within the garden, the fireflies shone brightly as they spread throughout the garden, revolving around the two successors.

“Fireflies!” Jiyeon cheered with excitement. Without warning, she threw the jar to Sunggyu, who barely caught it in time, then subsequently jumped back and forth on the branch, catching fireflies in her bare hands.

“Look, look!” Jiyeon shoved her closed hands at Sunggyu and slowly opened them. Two fireflies could be seen snuggling with one another in her palm before flying off soon after.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Jiyeon beamed with pleasure. Her smile was brighter than ever before. In that instant, the fireflies simply faded into the background as Sunggyu’s eyes locked onto Jiyeon. His heart warmed as he watched her play.

After a while, the fireflies began to disperse throughout the garden, drifting further away from the two successors. Only then did Jiyeon decide to settle down for good and return to her usual composed self.

“Sorry, you were bored right?” Sitting back down by Sunggyu’s side, Jiyeon smiled apologetically.

Sunggyu shook his head. “Not really. As long as you’re happy,” he said nonchalantly with a subtle smile. Jiyeon was taken aback by Sunggyu’s words. Her cheeks turned slightly pink as she turned to the oblivious boy.

“Hmm?” Sunggyu questioned, seeing her face turn red out of nowhere.

“A-ah, nothing.” The girl laughed awkwardly. “What do you think about fireflies, oppa?” Jiyeon said as she watched the fireflies disappearing into the fog, trying to change the topic.

“Nothing much,” Sunggyu answered. “I saw them for the first time today.”

“Oh really? Well… fireflies are my favourite.”

“I can see that.” Sunggyu chuckled.

“But did you know, oppa?” Jiyeon turned to Sunggyu. “Fireflies’ lifespans are quite short. They live for about two months only in the wild.”

“That is… quite a shame,” Sunggyu replied apathetically.

“That’s why you don’t get to see them often, especially a big group like that.” Fiddling around with the now empty glass jar, Jiyeon smiled. “I wonder how Jieun managed to catch all those fireflies.”

“If you like them so much, I’ll catch them for you everyday.” Once again, Sunggyu blurted out without thinking.

“No, it’s okay.” Jiyeon rejected his offer right away, without getting flustered by his words as she had earlier. “Their short life-span is a part of their beauty. If I were to see them everyday, the joy of seeing them would diminish each time. Just like love.”

“What do you mean?” Sunggyu asked in confusion.

“You see… Love is quite complicated. For some people, when they are in love, they want to see their beloved every single day. But the more they see that person, the less excited they will be when seeing that person again,” Jiyeon explained.

“Hmm… Really? I don’t think I would be like that,” Sunggyu said. In that moment, his eyes became focused. Biting his lip, he scooted closer to Jiyeon with one knee propped up so his arms could rest on it.

“At the very least, if that person were you, I don’t think I would ever feel less excited seeing you. Ever.”

“W-what?” Jiyeon turned sharply towards Sunggyu. Her eyes widened in shock.

“Y-you… what did you… did you just…” Getting more and more nervous, Jiyeon was lost for words.

On the other hand, Sunggyu simply sat there with his head buried between his arms. Embarrassed, he titled his head to the side and locked eyes with her while remaining in silence. With only his light grey eyes visible, Jiyeon felt even more nervous under his intense gaze. Her heart was beating so fast, as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

“W-what…?” Jiyeon stuttered yet again. “W-why are you looking at me like that?” Her cheeks turned red as Sunggyu continued to stare in silence.

“Say something!” Jiyeon nudged him gently in frustration.

The nudge caused Sunggyu’s arms that were resting on his knee to fall off. To Jiyeon’s surprise, Sunggyu’s cheeks were just as red as hers. Even his ears were beet red. It was then that she realised that he had been hiding his embarrassment all along. Looking at the flustered Sunggyu, Jiyeon started to laugh.

“Pfft— Haha!”

“D-don’t laugh!” The position was now reversed, with Sunggyu being the one that was stuttering.

“Haha. Oh oppa.” Jiyeon paused for a moment. “Pfft. I can’t help it. Haha!” Not long afterwards, she laughed loudly once more after looking at the embarrassed Sunggyu.

“You… Look here!” Sunggyu said with a hint of anger.

“What—” Jiyeon’s vision suddenly darkened and before she knew it, Sunggyu was right in front of her – nose to nose. She could feel something soft touching her lips. In the heat of the moment, she thought it was his lips.

“What?” Sunggyu smiled rather mischievously. “Lost for words again?”

Seeing that Sunggyu was still able to talk, Jiyeon snapped back into reality. She then realised that the thing that she felt on her lips were actually his fingers, not his lips. Because his face was so close, she had gotten the wrong idea. Embarrassed and angry, Jiyeon pushed him away.

Sunggyu took a step back. The “evil” smile was still planted on his face. It was as if the usual quiet and emotionless boy had turned into a prankster.

“Y-you… Hmph!” Jiyeon didn’t even bother to retort and turned to leave. However, a hand caught her wrist right before she could teleport.

“What? Let go!” Jiyeon demanded angrily.

“Not before you give me an answer.” Sunggyu smiled.

“What answer—” The girl’s cheeks were pink again, recalling the indirect confession.

“Well, you know…. What I said earlier. Will you give me an answer?” Sunggyu asked calmly, contrary to his furiously beating heart.

“I-I…” Jiyeon hesitated.

After a moment of silence, Sunggyu assumed he knew the answer and smiled sadly.

“I see… I suppose that’s your reply,” he said, letting go of her wrist. “Well, I apologise for wasting your time. I’ll take my leave now—”

This time, Jiyeon caught Sunggyu’s hand right before he was about to teleport.

“No!” she yelled desperately.

“Huh?” Sunggyu looked at her in confusion. A little fire of hope was lit once more deep inside his heart.

“I-I like you too!” Jiyeon blurted out with her eyes squeezed shut. Her hands, which were holding onto Sunggyu’s arm, trembled with nerves.

“Huh?”

“I said… I like you—” Suddenly, Jiyeon felt a pair of arms wrapping around her tightly. She struggled to free herself instinctively.

“Stay like this for a while.” Sunggyu whispered. “Please.”

Sunggyu’s soft voice calmed her down instantly. Her arms that were pushing him away earlier slowly made their way around his back. Jiyeon could feel Sunggyu’s heart beating as fast as hers, as loud as hers, and as strong as hers.

*Ah, so he feels the same as I do.*

Jiyeon thought as they stood there in one another’s arms. The girl couldn’t help grinning to herself as she buried herself in Sunggyu’s arms. Feeling her grip, Sunggyu smiled silently and tightened his own in response.

“So this is what it feels like,” he mumbled to himself.

“Hmm?” Jiyeon looked up when she heard him mumbling.

“Nothing,” Sunggyu smiled. “Should we leave now? Jieun must be worried about us.”

“A-ah right.” Jiyeon jumped backwards in embarrassment the moment Sunggyu let go of her.

Holding back his laughter, Sunggyu extended his arm and smiled. “Let’s go.”

Shyly, Jiyeon took his arm and both disappeared from the garden. And the days of happiness began.

The news soon spread that the new King and Queen were officially a couple; half of it was thanks to Jieun’s effort in warding off the girls around Sunggyu. At first, the successors were in disbelief (and self-denial). The truth was confirmed when they spotted the royalty couple hand in hand in a garden. Some were jealous, some were supportive, and some just didn’t care.

Meanwhile, the trio spent their days like they used to, except Jieun seemed to be around less and less often. According to the girl herself, she had gotten some new friends, but Jiyeon and Sunggyu had never seen her so-called friends before. Nonetheless, they decided to let her be. After all, this meant that they have more time alone with one another and thus, their relationship only improved day by day.

[5 years later, 15 years left until the Coronation Ceremony]

“Sunggyu. Sunggyu-ah!” Jongwan called out. “SUNGGYU!”

“Yes, yes.” Sunggyu turned around to face his trainer who, instead of training him, was reclining comfortably on the grass.

“Stop frowning,” Jongwan commanded, “I need you to take this box to the God of Light.” He then threw a black rectangular box that was sealed with magic toward Sunggyu.

Sighing, Sunggyu caught the box swiftly. He started to wonder if he was really Jongwan’s student or servant.

*Probably the latter.* Sunggyu answered his own question while looking at the said man shifting around on the ground, trying to find a comfortable spot.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go already,” Jongwan complained when he saw that his errand boy had yet to leave.

“Hyung, you didn’t tell me where to find the God of Light,” Sunggyu answered with yet another sigh.

“O-oh, I didn’t?” Jongwan laughed awkwardly. “You probably will find him near the dragon’s lair. Oh, speaking of which, can you get me a— Ya. Ya! Where are you going?! I’m not done talking yet, you brat!”

*If I wait until you’re done talking, I’ll be stuck with a never ending list of things to do.* Sunggyu thought as he quickly teleported to his destination.

Soon after, the view changed from a peaceful grassland into an eerie and spooky forest. In front of him was the cave of a dragon. It had taken him forever to find when he first came to find its egg for Jongwan. This particular dragon was the rarest among its race and was known to be the most dangerous of all for its speed and power – and his mission then had been to take one of its eggs without a scratch on the dragon itself. Feeling nostalgic, Sunggyu stood in front of the place where he had almost lost his life for a while before beginning to search for the God of Light.

As he was wandering around aimlessly, he suddenly sensed something alarming. It was something he had never felt before.

*What is this?* Sunggyu began to take his stance and scanned his surroundings.

The feeling became stronger and stronger over time, and soon Sunggyu could hear noises coming from a distance. Releasing his power, he set out to check the source.

“AHHH!” A young boy’s scream could be heard as Sunggyu moved closer. Thinking that someone was in danger, he immediately picked up his pace.

Arriving at the scene, he saw another successor surrounded in a golden aura struggling to run away from an angered beast. The beast was fierce and charged at the boy like its life depended on it. Its sharp teeth were bared, and its saliva was dripping in hunger.

“Damn it, you beast!” The young boy did his best to fight the creature off.

After observing the situation out of precaution, Sunggyu decided to step in right when the beast charged at the boy as if it wanted to swallow him whole. He quickly jumped in between the beast and the other boy.

“Huh? Who—”

With one powerful punch, Sunggyu sent the beast flying sideways. The sound of multiple trees breaking could be heard. The other boy stared at Sunggyu with his mouth open in shock. 

*I better make sure it’s dead.* Sunggyu thought as he chased after the fallen beast.

“Wait, no. Stop!” The boy yelled when he saw Sunggyu chasing after the beast. With no second to waste, he followed right behind him, calling out to Sunggyu.

“Ya! You there! Stop!” Unfortunately, all of his calls failed to reach Sunggyu, who was set on killing the beast.

“There you are,” he murmured when he spotted the beast growling in pain on top of the pile of broken trees.

“As expected, you haven’t died yet.” Sunggyu stared at the thing and debated whether or not he should kill the animal. It was not like he had never killed before. But this situation was complicated for him. He didn’t know whether or not the beast belonged to someone or if it were listed as a rare species. In any case, killing it wouldn’t be a wise decision.

In that moment, the beast suddenly charged at him furiously. Given the situation, Sunggyu decided that he had no choice but to finish it off. Chanting his spell, he gathered his power in his palm. Right when he was about to shoot, a shrieking voice could be heard from behind.

“Don’t kill it!!”

“Huh?”

But it was too late, for Sunggyu had already released his power. However, when the dust dissipated, what he saw was not as he had expected. Instead of seeing a dying if not already dead beast, he saw it still alive and well protected in a golden sphere. The golden hue was very similar to that of the boy who was chasing him, except it was brighter and stronger.

“Are you deaf or something? I told you not to kill it. What have you done!?” The other boy finally caught up to him. Instead of expressing gratitude towards Sunggyu for saving him (or at least Sunggyu thought he did), the boy slapped the clueless Sunggyu really hard in the back of the head.

“You idiot. Now I’m going to be scolded because of you—” the boy ranted on in anger.

“Woohyun.” A gentle but firm voice could be heard. It was this very voice that shut the boy up.

“Ahaha… K-Kibum hyung…” Woohyun glared at Sunggyu, then turned around timidly.

“Care to explain?” The man in front of them was smiling, but both could feel a strangely murderous feeling coming from him.

“H-Hyung, listen to me. I didn’t attack, I swear. I didn’t— Ouch!”

“I told you to heal it, not hurt it. If I hadn’t appeared, it would be in pieces by now!” Kibum, the God of Light, knocked the boy over the head and reprimanded him.

Holding onto his painful head, Woohyun whined pitifully. “Hyung! I said, I didn’t attack it! He did— Ouch!” He then pointed at Sunggyu, who was still clueless about the situation.

“Of course I know you didn’t do it. It was clearly not your power. Even if it was, what can a healer like you do against my holy beast?” Kibum knocked the whining boy over the head again. Finally, he turned to Sunggyu.

“Well, your turn. What is the successor of Darkness doing here? Your power sure is impressive, but almost killing my beloved pet is not.” He continued to smile but his eyes screamed murder.

Sunggyu stared at Kibum, who was well-dress and full of elegance, then at the beast that was not only ugly but also wild and lacked of intelligence.

*That’s your… pet?* Sunggyu thought in disbelief. *Yet another weirdo…*

“Ahem!” Kibum coughed impatiently.

“Are you the God of Light, sir?” Sunggyu asked cautiously.

“Indeed, I am.”

Sunggyu then pulled out the box and handed it over politely. “I am here by the order of the God of Darkness, Jongwan hyung. He told me to give you this.”

Receiving the box, Kibum stared at it for a while before smiling. “Ah, this. He finally found it. Good, good!”

“Hyung… you didn’t get another weird beast, didn’t you? I beg you. Please, can’t you get another one—Ouch!”

“You are one million years too early to question my taste.” Kibum then turned to Sunggyu with a genuine smile. “Tell your trainer I said thanks.”

“Will do.” Sunggyu nodded. “I apologise for attacking your beast—ahem, pet. I thought your successor was in danger, so I helped out.”

“What are you talking about!? I was not in danger. I just didn’t attack back because—” The boy’s voice trailed off when he saw Sunggyu’s face.

“Hey! You’re the guy that had a nervous breakdown at the test.”

“Nervous breakdown?” Kibum raised his eyebrow in disbelief.

*Him? The successor of Darkness who broke the Power Mirror?* He glanced at the quiet boy, whose eyes were locked on Woohyun.

“Yeah, I tried to cheer him up before the test. I came back to cheer for him too, but he was already done by then,” Woohyun answered honestly.

“Woohyun… this is Sunggyu, the successor of Darkness.”

“Ah, nice to meet you!” Woohyun smiled and patted the guy on the shoulder, oblivious to his intense stare.

“Woohyun… he topped the chart in the last test.”

“Oh, did he? Haha. I told you you would be fine— Wait, what?!” Woohyun shouted in surprise. “Successor of Darkness… Y-You’re the one that broke the Power Mirror in the second test?”

Sunggyu nodded in reply. His eyes were still locked on Woohyun.

“Is there something wrong, Sunggyu?” Kibum questioned, noticing his strange behaviour.

“…Nothing, sir.” Sunggyu answered, taking his eyes off Woohyun. “It is time for me to leave now. Have a good day.” With a slight bow, he then turned around and proceeded to teleport.

“Wait! My name is Woohyun. Nice to meet you.” Woohyun smiled and stretched his hand out.

Sunggyu stared at the boy, then at his hand. “Sunggyu,” he answered, then immediately left the scene, leaving Woohyun to awkwardly reject his rejected handshake.

*There is something wrong with him. My instincts are telling me to not go near him.* Sunggyu thought as he recalled the sense of alarm that he had felt when Woohyun had been near. It was something that he had never felt before.

*Hmm… I better ask Jongwan hyung.*

↭↭↭↭↭↭↭↭

“What?” Jongwan shot up. “You said you felt a sense of alarm?”

Sunggyu nodded in reply.

“That’s strange. I was going to tell you about it later anyway, but you shouldn’t be able to sense anything as a successor.” Jongwan signaled Sunggyu to come closer and put his hand on the boy’s forehead when he did. All Sunggyu could feel was a surge of power going through his body; then everything returned to normal.

“What you felt was a natural instinct against the opposite element. It was recommended back in the old days to avoid your opposite element, and this sense was given by The Great so that the two elements could avoid one another before they even met. But it is inherited along with the God’s power. It is rare for a successor to sense anything before the Coronation Ceremony. Actually, I have never heard of anything like this before.”

Glancing at Sunggyu, Jongwan couldn’t help but sigh. “But then again, you’re no normal successor. What a pain. Why can’t you be a normal kid, Sunggyu-ah? You’re giving me too much stress!”  the man complained.

“I don’t think you’re normal either…” Sunggyu muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?!” Jongwan glared at the boy.

“…”

“Argh, whatever. Off you go. You’re done for today. Seeing your face is too stressful for me right now. Here, take this candy and go play with the twins or something. Shoo shoo!”

Sunggyu stared at the candy in his hand and questioned its edibility. However, none of that mattered to him. He was happy to be able to see the twins again. He had been too busy lately.

The moment Sunggyu was gone, Jongwan instantly shed his image of a slacking trainer. His expression was tense as he became lost in serious thought.

“Argh! Whatever. This is too much for my brain right now,” he mumbled with a sigh.

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Hello~ Yes, I'm still alive and kicking. This took longer than usual since I wanted to get over with chapter 8 in one go (like, finally). To make up for the long wait, here is a triple update. Tada~!

This chapter was longer than I had expected it to be. Who would knew I would need to split Sunggyu's past story into 6 parts lol Anyway, with this triple update, chapter 08 is finally concluded. Hooray! 

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