Sung’s POV
528 Words
THE LAST MEMORY
The last thing I remembered was my shitty apartment.
The flickering glow of my laptop screen, the half-empty ramen cup on the floor, that one drama scene I kept rewinding because the male lead's smirk did something funny to my chest. I'd fallen asleep laughing, wrapped in my blanket burrito—
Then nothing.
Just darkness.
And then—
Cold.
WAKING UP IN HELL
Snow. That was the first thing I registered.
Why the f**k am I in snow?
I shot upright, my lungs burning like I'd been drowning. My hands scrambled against the frozen ground, panic clawing up my throat.
This isn't right. This isn't—
A branch snapped.
And then he appeared.
Tall. Dressed in black. Eyes like a blade's edge.
I'd never seen anyone look at me with that much hatred before.
"Kang Yohan."
The name meant nothing to me.
But the sword at my throat?
That got the message across.
THE DUNGEON EPIPHANY
Turns out, looking like a wanted criminal really screws up your first impression.
I spent the first night in a cell, shivering and trying to wrap my head around the impossible:
I wasn't in Korea anymore.
I wasn't even in my own world.
And the guy who threw me in here? The so-called "Northern Duke"?
Yeah. He hated me.
Or rather, he hated the guy I looked like.
THE TRAINING INCIDENT
I thought he was going to kill me when he tossed me that sword.
Instead, he taught me.
Well. "Taught" is generous.
More like he swung at me until I stopped falling on my ass.
"Again."
"Pathetic."
"You're dead if you do that in a real fight."
I hated him.
I also couldn't stop staring at the way his muscles moved under his shirt when he demonstrated a stance.
Not the time, brain.
THE LIBRARY DISCOVERY
The journal changed everything.
Seeing my face staring back from those pages, labeled Traitor. Assassin. Killer.
I finally understood why Jiwon looked at me like he wanted to set me on fire.
But the worst part?
The way his voice softened when he said, "You're not him."
Like it was a relief.
Like it mattered.
THE KISS THAT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN
I didn't mean to fall asleep in his room.
But the adrenaline crash after the fight with Yohan hit me like a truck. One minute I was watching the healers patch up Jiwon, the next—
Hands on me.
Lips.
For a single, heart-stopping second, I thought I was dreaming.
Then Jiwon kissed me back.
And it wasn't gentle.
It was hungry.
Like he'd been starving for it.
Like I was the air he needed to breathe.
Then—
"Go."
Just like that.
Dismissed.
THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH
Now, standing in the war room, I watch Jiwon avoid my eyes as he plans Yohan's execution.
I should be scared.
I am scared.
But mostly?
I'm pissed.
Because he doesn't get to kiss me like that and then pretend it didn't happen.
And when we ride out at dawn?
Oh, we're talking about this.
Whether he likes it or not.
___ to be continued ___
- Writer
