Chapter 4

...Just a dream, it will end....

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The girl opened her eyes slowly and stared at the clear blue sky above her. The clouds looked clear and light like cotton candy, and the blue was so beautiful. She almost smiled. But then confusion washed over her.

Why is the sky above me when it should have been the beige color ceiling of my room? Where am I?

She sat up and looked around, her mind wasn't processing. She cussed out when she realized.

She was under the open sky, in a wide, open field.

Where the hell am I?

She stood up. All the far she could see were trees and forest.

Am I in a forest? Why am I in a forest?

She looked back. Even in the far distant view were trees and this open field with long, soft and fresh grass. She started to panic. She ran. The young panicking girl realized she wasn't even wearing the nightdress she was wearing when she got into bed.

I was just reading a book, how am I here?

She hesitated before running into the forest, the birds were chipping altogether loudly, but it was still somehow soothing to hear. If she had been in the right state of mind right now, she could've loved it. But nothing seemed to make sense. Everything was questionable. She needed to find someone. Anyone who could help her out at that moment. She was running with all her force, she was afraid,

What if I lose my consciousness right now, right here?

But she kept running as if her life were on the line. It really was at that moment. So she kept running and running. She had no idea how long she ran, but-

Wait...

she stopped running as something came into her clear view. She slowly walked towards the cliff and stared in front of her. Disbelief, confusion, and terror all emotions worked together at the same time making her feel nauseous.

The city was so beautiful, so elegant, so fairy... it wasn't Seoul, it wasn't Busan, in fact, it wasn't even any of the cities or places of her generation. The apple of the eye was the castle. It was giant. She wasn't sure, but it looked like it could be larger than the Lotte World Tower of Seoul.

The castle was wide, spacious, and also tall. The color was grayish, and gosh, was it sparkling under the sunlight. She saw people. Maybe they could help her. So she turned and ran again downwards, the place was so pretty and natural, she realized it then. she didn't belong there. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, so she started walking while breathing heavily from all the running.

She knew, she was definitely lost. So, she stopped and sighed before sitting down under a tree, feeling. The girl wasn't used to running.

Wait, I haven't passed out yet. What was happening?

Did I improve? Or is it something else....

Then she heard a smooth flow of water somewhere far away from where she sat. It sounded like a melody. It was peaceful, but she was thirsty. So she gathered herself and stood up again and followed the sound of the water. She kept walking, getting lost in the process of finding the source of water countless times, but she kept going until she finally stood in front of a waterfall.

"Wow..." she stared at the fall, astonished. The fall wasn't that high, but the water fell gracefully, leaving pearl-like droplets around the rocks at the bottom and the sides of the flow.

She had never seen a waterfall in her life. Only imagined it. But never thought it would be this beautiful.

The water plunges from the higher mountain with sheer elegance, cascading down jagged rocks, its silver threads catching the sunlight as they shimmer like liquid diamonds. The sound of its soft roar when the water hits the ground and the rocks fill the air, a rhythmic, soothing melody that echoes through the surrounding landscape. The water droplets looked like glittering diamonds under the sunlight. What a perfect harmony of nature it was!...

She walked closer to the shore and sat down on a big rock before cupping her palm to store some water in her hand and drinking it to quench her thirst. The water tasted sweet as she drank more before dipping her bare foot in the water. It was ice cold, but still so soothing.

She sighed and stared at every detail of the scenery that unfolded in front of her. It felt like a dream to her. A beautiful dream. And if it's materially a dream, she wished she would never wake up from it.

Just as she was chilling and enjoying the view, forgetting what she was doing or why she was there in the first place, she heard a noise.

Unknown to her, but as she guessed, it might be the sound of a horse. Like, again, she never saw a horse in her life. Only on TV. So curiosity got the best of her. She stood up and walked towards where the noise came from.

There was a horse tied to a tree. A saddle on its back. its color is a patchwork of rich brown and stark white, each color seemingly painted by a careful hand, the beauty of the god-made creature.

Muscles rippled beneath the mottled hide as it moved with quiet strength. Its Mane was long and dark, nearly black, falling over its neck in windswept waves, and its tail matched—thick, flowing, and full of quiet power. The animal's dark eyes glinted with intelligence, ears flicking at the softest sound.

The girl trapped in the unknown destination gasped and went towards it. Seeing her, it nickered and shook its head, making her even more excited.

She carefully walked towards it, not to scare him or her, and placed her palm on its face. When she realized it took her as friendly, she couldn't help but coo and caress it like it was her own raised baby. It nickered again, making her giggle too. It was such a cutie.

She went to hug it while caressing it.

"Why are you tied here, huh? Are you owned by anyone, hmm?" As if the horse understood her, it snorted, pointing its head somewhere.

The girl tilted her head out of curiosity, looking at the horse before following where it pointed and walking in that direction. Her eyes widen seeing a man sleeping under a big tree.

His face was round, pale and beautiful, eyelashes gently falling over his cheeks, face contoured with slight shadow under his cheekbone and colored with natural blush over his nose, with down-turned lips— and holy shit... heavenly gorgeous platinum blond hair which shines under the golden sunlight. Her hands itched to brush her fingers through his hair, but he was a stranger. A beautiful stranger.

She wondered how much time god took to make him. Was he a fallen angel or something? Wait, wasn't I in a dream?

Oh God, he was shining, mind-blowingly beautiful. She had never seen such a beautiful man before. Her brother Jungkook was handsome, yes. But this guy had such weirdly delightful features she couldn't express. She was stupidly crushing over him. The girl sighed dreamily.

Is he the prince charming of my dreams?

She was busy admiring him when he suddenly opened his eyes, those dark orbs staring directly at her.

"AHH---" She didn't realize she was above him, staring like a creep, that when he suddenly opened his eyes, it nearly took her soul away. She yanked herself back, falling on the dirt in the process.

"You've been staring, miss. It's uncomfortable." He grumbled, low, heavy, and cold. Heat crawled up her neck to her cheeks, burning her face. Hell, even his voice was velvety.

She shook her head, trying to think in the right headspace. So, she quickly tried to save herself from embarrassment. "I'm so-sorry... I was just..." she stuttered, embarrassing herself even more, so she just kept shut.

But he kept staring at her instead of scoffing off and going back to sleep, like she thought he would do, making her even more nervous. Should I say something? "I'm sorry. I was just wondering who you were."

He frowned a little. "You don't know me?"

She blinked. Was I supposed to know him? I don't even know this place, let alone him.

She cleared her throat. "Should I...?" His eyebrows raised in surprise before he shook his head, lay back down, and closed his eyes. She took his appearance in. He was wearing something only a royal would, and his sword was beside him.

He wore an off-white loose shirt with some embroidery on his bishop sleeves. His pants are made of fine fabric. He was not wearing any armor or anything, like she thinks royal guards or fighters wear, so she assumed he was on his break or so. She took a brave guess on what he could be. "Are you... The royal knight or something?"

He opened his eyes and gave her a look like she was a clown. She sat straight, feeling even more embarrassed. Oh, God, I should have just stayed quiet. She cleared her throat again, feeling awkward under his disbelieving gaze.

"No?" She asked unsurely, her voice barely audible.

He scoffed again, this time loud and clear. "Can't believe you don't know me even though you live in my kingdom."

His kingdom? "So, you must be the king himself?"

His eyes widened as he looked at the innocent-looking girl, shocked.

"Are you high or something?" he asked as if he couldn't believe what she just said.

"Or, maybe not. Never mind. I- I was just kidding haha." She laughed it off, trying not to embarrass herself even more.

"You better be." He grumbled and sat up, stretching for a moment before standing up and walking towards the horse. She also stood up and dusted off her dress.

That's when she realized she was wearing a long off-white dress with full sleeves and a corset made of pure leather. The leather feels soft and smooth to the touch. Oh god, it felt too real to be a dream. She looked up to see him untying the horse.

"That's your horse, right? Is it a boy or a girl?" He again looked back at her, like she didn't clearly make any sense.

"Can't you judge...?" he said while looking at the (not directly) horse. She followed his gaze in wonder and- oh,... oh, damn it's a boy.

Her cheek flushed. The girl thought she had never embarrassed herself more than she did in front of someone, even if it was her dream.

"My apologies." He nodded before starting to walk away while holding the horse's halter. That's when she realized where she was and what she was looking for.

Would asking for his help be a smart idea? I mean, I'm in my dreams, right? And if he's the prince charming of my dream, shouldn't I follow him?

She made a quick decision before running after him.

"Wait! The knight of my shining armor, hold up!" She cringed at her own choice of words, but he halted and turned around. And again, to embarrass herself, she nearly bumped into him.

"Careful. What is it?" He asked, his voice still the same calm and coldness as at first.

"Uh, I'm... I'm embarrassed to say this, but I think I'm lost..." she murmured lowly. She doubted that he heard her, but the way he was looking down at her, the small girl before him honestly didn't want him to hear her anymore.

"You're lost? How come? You're always here." He spoke as a matter of factly.

Am I? How the hell? And how did he know? And why is he looking at me like he thinks I'm kidding with him?

"I don't know. But can you lead me... out of this place..."

"Aren't you begging for attention right now? First acting like a fool in front of me, then acting lost?"

What? Begging for attention? He wished.

Anger flared in the girl as she looked at him pissed. "Pardon me, sir, I didn't realize I was acting like a fool. You can go and mind your own business."

Juok turned around, ready to leave. The man didn't want to anger her like that, but seeing her blow her mouth like a balloon and turn to leave, he couldn't stop himself from finding it adorable.

But what was he supposed to do anyway. He, himself was unsure what that girl was trying to do and what he was going to do about it. He got on her nerves with just one sentence.

What does he think of himself? I endure my hypocrite parents doesn't mean I will endure some asshole in my dreams too no matter how beautiful he is.

But before she could walk two steps further, she was pulled back. He held her wrist with delicacy and pulled her toward the horse.

"Get on, I'll drop you to the palace."

The palace? That huge sparkling building, which looked like it was from the Disney movies? That castle? Why would I go there? Is he kidnapping me?

"No, thank you. I don't want to be an attention seeker." she spat back. Still holding on to the grudge.

"Don't be stubborn. I will get you to your father."

What the hell? What was my father doing in my dreams? No, the hell not.

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Author : let me know how you like the story and your opinion on it. I'd love to read your thoughts, what goes through your mind when you read my lines. Thank you!

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