•••

After the youngsters entered, Seungcheol and Jeonghan sensed something strange. The further they walked, the harder it was to see them. Seungcheol couldn't hear a single sound from their footsteps or speech anymore. For the time being, it was just a dark room with dim lighting and orderly bookcases in front of his eyes. There was no evidence of the two, as if they'd been swallowed by the darkness and vanished.

Seungcheol started to lose his composure next to Jeonghan, who was attempting to reopen the door after it had abruptly closed. They both freaked out and hastily drew their wands, trying to charm the doorknob, but the maxima prefix was no longer useful. No matter how hard they tried, the door would not open.

Jeonghan had to start a little fire with his wand due to the cold air around them. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, just like every other charm he'd made before. Seungcheol was an impressive wizard, but even so, his spells went away after a minute or two. He even tried to warm their garments and create an air barrier to keep the cold out, but nothing lasted long enough.

So they waited together until their bodies' temperature dropped to dangerously low levels and their faces become as pale as zombies. Given his previous experiences with Joshua in this place, Jeonghan was not surprised. But that didn't make him feel any better; the chilly air still crept down his skin.

"Let's go back to the meeting room first. We can't help them if we're freezing to death."

Seungcheol couldn't take his eyes off the doorknob, expecting a tiny movement. But what Jeonghan said was right. Their flesh and bones could not withstand the cold, dense air of this place.

Joshua had already planned for this perplexing situation by telling him and Jeonghan to stand guard here. The two had no idea what was going on, but when absurd things happened, he had to figure out how to get through this freaking door.

Following that, the two returned to the meeting room.

"Have you ever gone to any place other than the hallway?" Seungcheol asked Jeonghan, who responded with a shrug. His brow furrowed slightly as he considered what had occurred outdoors.

In the end, he made this conclusion:

"I assume magic cannot be maintained in this dimension, or at least not in this hallway. That's why the door has locked again, and we can't use magic to keep warm."

As Seungcheol concluded his sentence, he spotted Jeonghan sitting on the sofa with both hands covering his pallor face, then running his fingers through his hair. His gaze was drawn to the wolf skin carpet on the ground as he breathed uneasily.

"Hey, are you okay?" Seungcheol moved in closer, eventually placing one hand on Jeonghan's shoulder. He saw the boy's muscles stiffen and tighten immediately, indicating increased fear.

Jeonghan seemed to be surrounded by thick air, as if the wall was closing in on him, becoming a colored steel prison from which he couldn't escape. The boy didn't even aware he was tensing up unconsciously.

"I felt awful. I'm the warrior; I can fight. I know I'm a better fighter than Shua. I should've followed them, I should've..."

"Hey, nobody knew anything." Seungcheol attempted to console the boy.

"Mingyu is the future of Carat Land, and I've just enticed him into a room about which I know nothing. What the fuck is wrong with me? The Queen will literally take off my head or throw me to hell."

"You didn't entice him. He and I both want to be a part of this. None of this was your fault, and the queen will not behead you."

Jeonghan's eyes were filled with horror as he glanced at Seungcheol. His thoughts were most likely consumed by panic.

"No. If horrible things happen to Mingyu, I'm to blame."

"It's still too soon to say it," Seungcheol sighed. "However, if we are unable to reopen the door, horrible things may occur."

Jeonghan's mind went blank, leaving him unable to comprehend their current circumstances. His arms felt numb. He listened to Seungcheol's voice, almost forgetting how to speak, and couldn't bring himself to respond.

"You stay here, perhaps searching for a solution through some documents. I'll go out and try some more spells." Seungcheol stopped when he heard nothing back from the young man.

Finally, he said:

"I need you to calm down, Jeonghan."

And so, the man quickly learned that wasn't the best way to console someone.

Seungcheol had to concede that, other from Joshua, he was not very good at soothing people. It was easier and more comfortable for him to say sweet nothings and give love to his boyfriend. Jeonghan was now in front of him, dumbfounded, simply nodding to respond.

The two had been in and out of the meeting for god knows how many times after that.

Seungcheol disagreed when Jeonghan suggested calling Minghao and Jihoon for help. He definitely didn't want more people involved, and he believed that the boys couldn't be better at magic than him.

Jeonghan understood, yet he couldn't help but notice how arrogant this man was, hence probably why he didn't like these privileged kids such as Seungcheol in the first place. They were buddies solely because of Joshua.

Joshua and Mingyu did not send out any signals for a few hours.

Seungcheol was completely exhausted. Even if he tried to convince himself that anxiousness was merely an emotional state, it was annoying, and still felt like pins and needles. A few hours was a long time, long enough for him to go nuts and blame himself for not doing something sooner. He understood, too, that no one knew anything. It was too late for them to go back and fix it.

When everything felt off, nothing went right, Seungcheol realized.

A tremendous sound burst from the door just as Jeonghan and he were about to give up and cry for aid. The two were shocked, raised their gazes abruptly, and eventually observed a gory crimson shade.

"WHAT THE-" Jeonghan yelled in frightening.

That was Joshua straining carry Mingyu towards their direction. The prince's shirt was splattered with blood, and its owner appeared to be unconscious.

Joshua exhaled heavily, sweat streaming down his brow. Seungcheol and Jeonghan worried and raced to assist Mingyu in lying down on the sofa. They didn't have time to ask any questions.

Seungcheol discovered a knife wound on Mingyu's right abdomen. He quickly shifted his attention to Joshua, forcing the child to face him in the eyes and demanding,

"Tell me what happened! Tell me you're not hurt!"

"I'm fine!" The boy responded in a high-pitched voice. "I'm just frightened."

"FINE??? What the fuck do you mean?"

"WHAT???" Joshua had his eyes wide open. "I just said I was fine. Totally."

"FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN! Mingyu is bleeding, and you two are fighting?" Jeonghan screamed at them.

Joshua glared angrily at Seungcheol before turning his focus to Jeonghan.

"He was stabbed. I tried casting Morphindo on him, but I was unable to keep the spell working because of the intense pain. I'm so, so sorry."

Seungcheol shoved Jeonghan aside as he rushed down to see the wound on Mingyu's belly.

A torrent of sweat spurted out, making the prince's hair cling to his forehead. His entire body shook. A few moaning sounds came from the mouth, coupled with erratic breathing. The tendons in his arm bulged as he fought to control his pitch, conceal the aches and pain.

Jeonghan clutched his tightly grasped hand, as if he wanted him to share it even just a tiny bit.

"We have to take him to my house. He needs an actual doctor." Seungcheol said.

The best friends didn't give it much thought before nodding in agreement.

Seungcheol raised his wand to charm Portaotis, as Joshua helped Jeonghan in lifting Mingyu from the sofa. The scarlet blood marks on the carpet got dark as the four of them walked through the entrance.

*

When Jeonghan asked what happened, Joshua tried to recall the events as clearly as he could. The fear within had genuinely cost him a lot of time to calm down. They didn't force or rush him, but Joshua believed he was responsible in this case.

After the three of them took a seat in the tiny living space next to Seungcheol's bedroom, the boy took a deep breath and confided.

"Mingyu was stabbed by someone who looked exactly like him. It's a magical creation, much like a clone or identity thief. Mingyu said that the creature used his knowledge of magic against him and was aware of what he knew."

"Did you see your clone?" Jeonghan put up the question.

"I did," Joshua said with a nod. "But I don't know much about fight magic, so it can't do me any harm."

Seungcheol remained silent. He drew Joshua into his arms and kissed the youngster's hair. He silently thanked Merlin and every deity who had blessed his little lover's safe and unharmed return.

"Did they suddenly appear?" Jeonghan couldn't stop being curious. Furthermore, in order to remedy the situation, they needed to know what happened.

"Not really." Joshua shrugged slightly. "At first, we didn't spot any creatures. There were only two of us. The clones appeared shortly after we touched the book."

Joshua shuddered slightly as he recalled.

Two clones walked out from the other side of the room. There was something undeniably creepy about them - so little light that Joshua imagined the clones were born from the darkness. They smiled cunningly, as if getting ready for an exciting game, but it was fraught with danger. Joshua's breathing seemed clogged at the time. He simply backed up slowly, not even daring to breathe. Mingyu stood in front of him, drawing his wand and pointed it toward the clones.

They counted to three and dashed to the door, but it was locked. Even after knocking hard and bawling furiously, Joshua received no signals from the outside. Mingyu tricked the clones into pursuing him while Joshua made every effort to break the lock. But, clearly, smashing was pointless.

"It was dark and cold; they were faster. And for a moment, I had no idea where I was going. We both ran until we lost sight of each other."

Joshua was hiding in a corner, as his clone smiled broadly through a bookcase. The monster didn't say anything the whole time; it merely approached him slowly, like someone cautiously catching a wild cat. Joshua, with his insane mind, believed they could communicate.

But that was before the clone sprang at him, causing him to fall to the ground while its hand clung to him and suffocated him. Joshua gasped for air and clutched at its face with his nails. As his eyes bulged, his lungs began to ache. Life was slipping away from him.

He could still feel the pressure as its finger wrapped around his neck; that, the monster smiled widely with white teeth and familiar eyes at that moment. He took a book and use it as a weapon to smack that creature in the head.

The strangest part was that it did not scream or change its act. Nothing just soulless eyes and a creepy smirk.

"I've never seen my face that ugly." Joshua admitted, which made Jeonghan smile a little. "I discovered another door and waited for Mingyu. He was already bleeding when I saw him."

"Gosh. We fucked up." Jeonghan sighed.

"But the Library is real!" Joshua exclaimed.

Seungcheol caressed the youngster's head and said:

"Miss Sandra had her own motive, which I don't support, and although I don't have faith in her, I know she didn't lie about these things."

With doe eyes, Joshua looked up at him. Seungcheol felt compelled to elaborate, in case his tiny sweetheart misunderstand.

"Look. She gave us some tasks. It was challenging and exhausting, yet it was never dull or pointless. We'd get something in the end. People got hurt; that's why they refused the task, then she just... abandoned us," he sighed. "She never showed up again, claiming she was too busy."

Joshua slowly leaned on Seungcheol's torso while wrapping both hands around his waist. As the boy realized now, he wanted to apologize for the previous night; they had both spent a lot of time with Miss Sandra, but everything was different with Seungcheol. He felt bad for the first time, thinking Seungcheol was untruthful. He had nothing to defend from what had gone through his head regarding the man that night.

The love of his life. The person he willingly gave his heart out with no regrets.

He's my...

"Cheol."

"Hmm?"

"I feel better now."

"I'm glad to hear that, love."

And Seungcheol smiled as the boy said,

"I feel good coming home to you."

Jeonghan left the room in silence to give the pair personal space and time. He entered the bedroom to check Mingyu's state of health.

Fortunately, the prince could sleep peacefully. He looked adorable, like a puppy squeezing on the bed at night. That made Jeonghan want to gently touch his eyes, nose, and cheeks. That made Jeonghan recall the nights they spent together on the prince's bed, in a cabin somewhere near Mennora Mountain. Jeonghan sensed the rush of love within his heart as he watched the prince sleep. It felt surreal, as they didn't end up happily, yet he treasured every second.

Nothing compares to Mingyu under the yellow glare of the nightlight.

And yes, he could admit that the feeling had never changed. It was alive within him, and much more so after witnessing the prince in dire peril.

Jeonghan couldn't resist his desire to touch the boy and feel the familiar warmth he used to embrace him. He wanted it to happen, so he laid his fingers inside the prince's hand as a gentle touch, as if he were afraid that the boy had unexpectedly awakened.

"I miss you." He murmured under his breath and rested his forehead on the boy's palm.

"I'm sorry I didn't write you a letter; sorry that I kept silent; sorry that I left you alone. Please believe me when I say I'm not a heartless person. I'm sorry for turning down three simple words I wanted to say to you. But you already know. I love you, Mingyu. And still."