It was late, the darkness swallowed everything allowing everything and everyone to relax and sleep in their warm comforting homes. The people in town were either having a nice dinner with their families, tucking their little ones into bed, or relaxing by the fire from a long day at work. All of the shops in town were long closed, that is, all except for one small tavern. The place could’ve been mistaken for a shed of some kind, but when inside, there were wooden floors, tables and chairs scattered through out the area and a bar in the back with dozens and dozens bottles of liquor and other drinks. The towns people knew about this place, why this was were bachelor parties were thrown and were many drunken fights occurred, but what they didn’t know is what took place after dark.

The tavern was lit up with some candles that stood on the bar table. On the bar stool, sat a man that looked like he had one too many drinks, but at the same time he seemed alert and everything the opposite of being drunk. This man, though, was different, his skin was a darkened gray color, his eyes were a pitch black color, and he had a faded dark aura emitting from his body. The aura that was emitting from his body seemed to be what was controlling this man. There was one other thing about this man that was different, he was dead. He was being used as a living puppet, by someone who is able to use such sorcery and some who has this ability. “You have gotten his attention. I have a grasp of his mind now, well done.” A voice spoke inside the man’s head. The man jolted almost as if he was just splashed with cold water. “Now, we will make our move tomorrow night, then and only then will I set you free, you have my word.” Then the voice vanished and the man stood up. The puppeteer was beginning to make his move and his plan was set, all he had to do now was wait for the right opportunity to attack.

Youngmin was sleeping peacefully, his blankets draped over him as he slept off the days stresses. On the other side of the room, Kwangmin was sitting in his bed, fully awake and alert, his body was up against the wall, knees to his chest and hands on his head. He was terrified, someone had entered his consciousness, he could almost, feel it. He didn’t understand what was happening and this terrified him the most, what if he was being punished, what if he was going to be forced to do harm? He looked at Youngmin from his position and his heart hurt, he couldn’t bear to harm his brother or anyone else. He didn’t want this. What was he being punished for? There were so many thoughts in his head all spinning around and it drove him near to insanity. Whimpers escaped his lips as the panic spiked even more; he was unable to stay still. It wasn’t until he felt his bed dip down that he looked up to see Youngmin making his way to his brother. “Kwangmin, are you alright?” The older asked in a hushed tone. Kwangmin looked at his brother who was sitting in front of him, curiousness and worry in his eyes. “I-I’m afraid, h-hy-ung.” That last word was especially hard to say, and that hurt Youngmin more than he could possibly imagine. The older embraced his brother and said, “There is no need to be afraid, I’m here.” Kwangmin was practically clawing at Youngmin’s shirt, something about Youngmin’s embrace calmed him and it was no different now, the panic faded and he felt the grasp on consciousness fade away and he was, finally, able to relax. “S-stay with me?” Kwangmin asked looking at his brother. The older nodded and the two got under the covers. Kwangmin huddled into his brother’s chest and released a shaky breath. This is where he felt safe, with his brother. Youngmin waited until the younger boy fell asleep before he dared to close his eyes. The older boy was beginning to worry, ever since they ran into that weird guy, Kwangmin seemed on edge, he seemed to be afraid of everything near him, on top of that, his words were coming out almost forcefully, which meant Kwangmin was loosing his voice much faster than he’d expected. ‘What’s happening to you, little brother?’ He wondered as he looked at the sleeping Kwangmin. Tightening his embrace, Youngmin closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep in hopes that tomorrow, things will go back to normal.

The next morning, rain was softly tapping on the window of the twin’s room. Youngmin awoke first; he noticed that Kwangmin was still sleeping in his embrace. The older boy smiled and gently shook the younger boy’s shoulder, “Kwangmin, wake up.” The younger’s eyes opened slightly and looked up at his brother and smiled. He slowly sat up and stretched his limbs before it hit him, something didn’t feel right. His hand went to his throat and he tried to make a sound anything, but nothing came out. He looked at Youngmin who sat up immediately, “Kwangmin, what is it?” It only took a few seconds for it to hit the realization that Kwangmin had lost his voice.  Youngmin quickly embraced the younger boy, “its ok, we both knew this was going to happen, its ok, I’m here with you, I-it’s ok” A tear silently rolled down the younger boy’s cheek, he would have to deal with it, not being able to hear his brothers voice, he could deal with it, but at the same time he wasn’t ready to deal with it.

At the fields, Youngmin accompanied Kwangmin with their father. Kwangmin looked so depressed and sad that others were wondering if something happened. Their father just said that he was having a bad start to the day, but people began to wonder what was really going on when Kwangmin wouldn’t say anything and would quietly do his work. Youngmin explained that Kwangmin had lost his voice and was not able to speak. Some people didn’t care much other people showed some sympathy, but Kwangmin was beating himself up on the inside he was now vulnerable and was not able to voice out for help. What made him feel worse was that, Youngmin’s freedom was now shortened, instead of going out with his friends he was now practically tied to him and he didn’t want that. “Kwangmin, come on, cheer up, I don’t like seeing you like this.” He heard the older boy say with a saddened tone. Kwangmin looked up at him and took his hand, turning his palm up he wrote down what he would’ve said with his finger, “Hyung, I’m sorry you’re stuck with me.” The older smiled a bit sadly and said, “Kwangmin, I am your brother, I want to help you get through your hardships, just like you do with me. Don’t feel bad, you are not forcing me to do anything so please calm down and cheer up, ok?” Kwangmin looked at his brother, believing and trusting in his words he nodded and suddenly found and new found force of determination, to work harder than ever to be there for his brother the same way he is now. Youngmin smiled and dragged the younger to the field, “come on enough sulking, time to work.”

Meanwhile, the strange man was making his way to the fields, he was on a mission, or at least the person controlling him was. In his pocket was a small pocket knife, this was the bait and all he had to do was set the trap and place the bait. “All you have to do is gain his attention; I will handle the rest now that I have a grasp of his mind.” The voice in his head rang, it was the puppeteer. The man silently made his way to the fields, the other town’s people paid no attention to him, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with him, but that wasn’t true they couldn’t see the aura, nor could they tell that this man was already dead and that his body was being animated by someone of the underworld. When he reached the large field, he went past the gates and took in his surroundings. Everyone was busy at work; he would need to gain their attention if he was to get to his target. He saw his target with his brother passing out bags of planting seeds to the others. He smirked and began to move with his plan, setting it in motion.

Youngmin stopped when a man stood in his way. It was the same man that punched Kwangmin the day before. “You?! I’m sorry sir, but please leave, you are unauthorized to be here.” He said to the man, but the other didn’t move. Kwangmin noticed something strange about this man, there was a dark aura around this man. He walked up to Youngmin and took his hand, “hyung something is not right with this guy.” He wrote onto the older boy’s palm. Kwangmin’s thoughts were confirmed when the man took out his pocket knife, blade extended and ready for use. The two boys began to back away, some of the workers ran off to get Mr. Lee and some of them went to get the boy’s father. Youngmin stood in front of his brother as they backed away. Kwangmin gripped his brother’s shirt; he wasn’t sure what to do. It was then that he heard something, a voice, “Kill him…do it attack!” Who was that, where was that voice coming from? “Kwangmin move it!” Youngmin announced when the attacker lunged foreword with his pocket knife, making the twins scatter and the other workers jump out of the way. Kwangmin coughed out once he landed on the ground with a ‘thud’. He sat up and noticed the man standing over Youngmin who was struggling. “Kill, do it or else your brother is in trouble, do it!” That voice again. ‘What are you? Who are you?’ he thought to himself. He didn’t know what to do, if he didn’t act fast, his brother would get hurt. “Oh my god let me handle this!” The voice uttered and something inside Kwangmin snapped, his eyes turned black a dark aura emitted from his body. “Hey, you.” He spoke with a low, menacing, tone. “Leave him alone.” The man moved to Kwangmin who being over taken by the voice in his head. The man lunged, but Kwangmin was faster; his hand came up and large force of dark energy knocked the man back into the small house on the hill. The man must’ve hit one of the support beams because the house collapsed almost immediately. ‘Get out of my head, who are you?’ Kwangmin’s consciousness was fighting with the voice that some how took over and it had looked like it won, but in reality the voice disappeared and Kwangmin returned to normal. He looked around seeing the destroyed house and Youngmin making his way to him cautiously. One of the workers found the man’s body and uttered, “He’s dead.” Then looked to Kwangmin, “You killed him, what have you done?!” Kwangmin’s eyes widened. He had harmed someone? No, worse, he killed someone. Youngmin looked at his brother with worry and maybe a hint of fear. ‘No, he’s afraid of me.’ He thought. The workers surrounded Kwangmin, they were not only terrified, they were angry, “We knew you were a demon, get out of here now!” One of them yelled. Another threw a rock at him, breaking the skin and causing a cut, making the younger boy whimper. Kwangmin, was still confused as anything, but he turned and ran out of the fields. Youngmin couldn’t believe what just happened. He was saved by Kwangmin, but no, that was not the Kwangmin he knew, that was not his Kwangmin. The Kwangmin that saved him seemed, dark, menacing, to put into one word, evil. He needed to find the younger boy before something else happened. He quickly made his way out of the field and into town to find his younger brother.

Meanwhile, the boy’s father, witnessing what had happened, saddened; he knew this day would arrive. The evil one, the god of the underworld, had made his move, his attack on Kwangmin began, which explained why the younger lost his voice this morning and why he was so terrified of one stranger the day before. He needed to get home, to his wife and explain what happened. He knew that Kwangmin would either be arrested, or killed on the spot if Mr. Lee ever reported the incident and knowing Mr. Lee, he would.  Silently, sneaking out of the field he quickly made his way back home. Once he arrived, his wife was alert and, more importantly, worried that her husband came home early and without the twins, “What happened?” She questioned. He only said one phrase, “It happened.” His wife saddened and said, “Find the twins; I’m going to the temple.” He nodded and the two left the house quickly before people began to search for Kwangmin.

Youngmin couldn’t find Kwangmin, he was worried, and the younger boy seemed so terrified and vulnerable. ‘What kind of brother am I? I promised I would be there for you. I’m so sorry Kwangmin, I will fix this I promise.’  Youngmin ran around town, “Kwangmin! Where are you?!” He called out, tears glazing his eyes. Where could he have gone? The younger went home, empty. He went to the market, empty. He looked to the town gate, could he have hidden himself. Slowly making his way out to the dense forest, he uttered, “Kwangmin, are you here?” A twig snapped, Youngmin looked around, “please come out, Kwangmin.” The older spoke a little louder this time. This time Kwangmin revealed himself, he was hiding within the forest of trees and bushes. He was terrified, dried tear tracks marked his cheeks, his minor injury from the stone that was throne at him had dried and left a trail of dried blood down his temple. Youngmin inched closer, but the younger backed away. “It’s ok, Kwangmin. Don’t worry; please don’t be afraid, I’m here for you. We will get through this; I will help you fix this, please come out.”  He held out his hand for his brother who was so terrified to the point of trembling. Kwangmin carefully left his safe spot and stepped in front of his brother, he couldn’t make eye contact, he was too afraid of rejection. Youngmin quickly brought his brother into an embrace, “It’s ok; I’m here Kwangmin.” That was everything the younger needed to break down. His hand gripping his brother’s shirt as he sobbed into his brother’s chest, he was unable to stop himself from collapsing onto the ground, bringing the older boy with him. Youngmin held his brother close to him; he hated to see his brother this way. Pulling back he smiled and said, “Let’s go home, ok?” The younger nodded and the two went back into town, back home where they knew that they were safe.

The twin’s mother came upon a temple that was nestled in between the market and the large field. People say that this was where the sun god was first seen many years ago and it was there that the temple was built; to honor that special place. The woman sat down and put her hands together and spoke, “my sun god, please spare me a few moments it’s an urgent matter please respond to me.” She didn’t have to wait long until she saw the same powerful and majestic man that came to her and her husband with the task of taking care of his twin boys. “What is so urgent?” He wondered, worry and curiosity in his voice. “It happened, the evil one has made his move.” She said her eyes were beginning to water. The sun god's expression hardened and he became serious, “You must get them out of town, they are no longer safe under your care, I'm afraid.” He said. She saddened and nodded, “What do we do?” She wondered. The god released a sigh before saying, “My council has been doing some research they have discovered that there is a stone that can purify evil. I want you to send them to find this stone, if they find this stone then; there is still hope for Kwangmin.” The woman nodded before wondering, “Do I tell them that they’re not our children?” The sun god nodded, hesitantly. “How are they?” The god wondered. She smiled, “they’ve grown well. They are together all of the time.” The god smiled, “That’s good, they will become each other’s strength, but now we must focus on getting the boys safely out of town that is my instruction to you.” The woman bowed, “yes, I will do all I can.” She left the temple, the god seeing her off before returning home.

When the twins came home with their father, their mother was home, eyes glazed over with unshed tears. “Boys….” She spoke quietly wiping away a stray tear she spoke again, “come here, there is something your father and I must tell you.” The twins looked over at each other, then at their father who went to join his wife; holding her tightly, he too knew what was coming. “Come and sit.” He said to the boys who obediently sat down at the dining table. The woman released a shaky breath before beginning, “boys, there is something you need to know. I don’t think there is any way for me to tell you this except to say it straight out. You two are not our biological sons.” The twins froze, eyes widened in shock. As the two sat their silently, the woman sitting next to them continued, “You see, we had been trying for children, but unfortunately nothing was helping us, we were loosing hope in being able to raise a child. However, one night, we were visited by the sun god and his wife, the sun goddess. They looked distressed over something. The sun god had explained to us that they were hosting a banquet in celebration of the addition of twin boys into their lives. Everything was going smoothly until the god of the underworld came uninvited to the party. The sun god tried to persuade him to go, but he didn’t, instead he sealed the youngest twin’s powers of light and replaced them with the powers of darkness…” At this Youngmin squeezed his brother’s hand tightly, the younger returning the squeeze. The woman continued, “The party was quickly canceled and the sun god and goddess decided to hide the twins for safety in case the evil one decided to act again. They came to us because they knew of our desire to have children. In my eyes, they blessed us with two beautiful boys, but now there is a real dilemma. What happened today was the work of the evil one. He has made his move. According to the sun god, there is a way to help you Kwangmin, there is a stone that is able to purify evil and if you can find this stone then you maybe able to reawaken the powers of light and the seal on your true powers can be broken.” A sudden jolt of hope hit the younger twin. He gripped his brother’s hand again. The woman released a breath and said, “I know that this is a lot to take in with everything that happened today, but there is one thing that you both must do, leave town. It is becoming too dangerous here for the both of you. You must leave town tomorrow morning, this way the mayor won’t go after you.” The boys sat at the table silently, they were unable to comprehend all of this, it was too much to grasp. Kwangmin, however, stood up and went to the two people that had raised him and took care of him and his brother. He smiled, wishing he could thank them, but instead he embraced them. Youngmin was just as shocked as the other two people being embraced. Relaxing, he understood Kwangmin’s intentions and joined the embrace. They understood that the boys were not upset with them; after all they had raised them.