Fairy Trap

Yi-Gyeol looked back, wondering if there was a European museum or a house decorated by a geek, beyond the dead-end alley.

−….!

Obviously, there should be a wall through which he passed behind him, but all he can see is a corridor that stretches far away. Frustrated, Yi-Gyeol imagined himself floating while maintaining his composure as much as possible. It seemed that it’d be much quicker for him to just go outside the building, look down and figure things out. 

He climbed up past the ceiling of the hallway as he wanted. It wasn’t a roof right away, but he had to go through several ornate hallways just like the place he had passed when he arrived.

‘Is it an apartment or a villa?’ 

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be hallways like this. However, considering the big corridor doors that were connected to the hallway, they don’t seem to be just simple apartment front doors.

Yi-Gyeol, who finally was able to come out after passing several corridors, was stunned in surprise while floating in the air. 

It was still the same deep night, but the scenery was completely different.

−No way….

His heart almost collapsed by the sight of the giant castle beneath him.

This has never happened before. He knew he wasn’t dreaming, but it was the first time that the scenery had ever changed so completely, so he didn’t know what to do.

The large castle, the fortress encircling it, and the outside surroundings were full of old wooden houses that could only be seen in world history books or paintings. Far outside from the private house, which surrounded the castle as its center, is a tall wall, and men wearing heavy metal armors stood guard on it. 

It was strange wherever he looked. He climbed up a little higher and looked far, but all he could see was a few dirt roads, forests, and hills. 

‘There can’t be a place like this in Korea.’ 

Both Yi-Gyeol’s house and the downtown area were in the middle of Seoul. And although it is said that he had deviated from his mortal body, he was still clearly wandering around reality, so passing a dead-end alley can’t lead to such ridiculous scenery.

‘Am I dreaming within my out-of-body experience now?’

With such gibberish thoughts, Yi-Gyeol slowly descended towards the castle. He really doesn’t know what happened, but going back to the hallway where he first stepped in was the first thing that he could think of. He thought that he’ll find out something if he looks around there.

However, Yi-Gyeol stopped just before entering the castle. He saw something black moving near a window in the tall castle. It was inconspicuous at first glance, but as he got closer, they were two men dressed in black clothes. Wearing masks, they were hanging from the frame of the window where the lights couldn’t reach and exchanging eye contact with each other.

‘Those men….?’

The moment Yi-Gyeol thought they seemed strange, the two men put something thin in the window frame then moved from side to side several times. It was only when the closed window opened silently that he realized what the frustratingly slow movement meant.

The two men secretly unlocked the door and went inside, seeming like robbers. Yi-Gyeol, who followed them into the room thinking that even such a castle could also be robbed, immediately felt the air cooled down. It wasn’t because the temperature in the room was low, but because the two men who noiselessly entered the castle pulled out two sharp daggers. 

The two men stood on the left and right sides of the bed in the dark room. And in the bed between them, someone tall was lying down, sleeping. He was covered in a blanket and his face was veiled with shadow, so he couldn’t recognize him, but he sure seemed to be an adult man. 

Looking down at the man in the bed, the two held the daggers in their hands and held it up high. 

A thought quickly passed by his mind. When he got closer to the men and looked closely at the dagger, it seemed as if it could cut deeply just by brushing on its sharp blade. If you get stabbed by something like this, it depends on where you got stabbed, but there’s no way you’ll be fine.

Yi-Gyeol turned his head and looked at the man that was sleeping in the bed. Although he couldn’t see him clearly because of the darkness, he was a foreign young man similar to his age. 

−Wake up!

Yi-Gyeol unknowingly shouted. Without hearing Yi-Gyeol’s voice, the men were seeming to strike the dagger at any moment.

−I said wake up!

When Yi-Gyeol shouted one more time in his frustration, the young man in the bed suddenly opened his eyes curiously. Then, just before the man on the left and the right struck the dagger, he sprung up his upper body and avoided the attack. Two sharp daggers dug deep into the pillow where the young man was lying a little while ago.

Just as the two masked men panicked, the young man swung his legs and knocked a man over. Then he took the dagger from the hand of the man who collapsed and struck the other man’s right shoulder.

“Urgh!”

Even though the dagger was deeply lodged in his right shoulder, the man only distorted his face and swallowed a groan, but did not scream. Instead, he moved the dagger from his right hand to his left hand and swung it toward the young man. The young man, who narrowly escaped the dagger by leaning his neck, grabbed the man’s wrist and strongly struck the man’s elbow with his knee. The sound of something breaking and the man’s elbow folding in reverse took place almost at the same time.

Yi-Gyeol, who was watching the scene, was so terrified and nervous that he didn’t know what to do. On the other hand, the young man, who struck the back of the man’s neck with the weapon and overpowered him, did not even show any signs of being tense or nervous. As a result, Yi-Gyeol felt like this situation could never be more disparate than he could ever think of. 

Meanwhile, a black shadow popped out behind the young man’s back.

−Behind you!

He shouted even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear him. The man who was about to attack the young man was aiming for his neck with another dagger he pulled out. Yi-Gyeol was so anxious and restless that he couldn’t stay still.

The young man was startled for a moment, and without looking back, he leaned over and avoided the dagger. And as if that wasn’t enough, he quickly turned his body and hit the man in the face with a rather loud noise. When the man who fell on the floor was about to get up quickly, the young man knocked him out, striking his neck with his feet. 

It all happened in an instant.

The two men, armed with hideous weapons, collapse and are overpowered in the blink of an eye by the young man who was still sleeping just a moment ago. And the young man, who made them as such, was still placidly calm and expressionless as if nothing had happened. 

The young man, who was cloaked by the moonlight’s reflection, surprised Yi-Gyeol by his dazzling appearance. He was much more gorgeous than most Hollywood actors and has distinctive features. So much that just one look at him would catch people’s attention and get enchanted by him. Before he even knew it, Yi-Gyeol was already thoroughly gazing over the young man’s face.

Then suddenly, Yi-Gyeol felt a bit terrified.

He was a young man who was just on the brink of death, but he too casually stabbed a knife at someone and broke his arm, as if this was a normal occurrence. It was a little scary that he acted mercilessly in self-defense without even blinking an eye.

Bang, bang-!

“Prince! What’s going on?!”

There were violent thrashings on the large door and a man’s loud voice was heard. Listening to the man’s words, it was his first time hearing the language, but surprisingly, he could understand it without any difficulty.

He couldn’t believe that in the OOBE[1] state, it would be easier to understand another country’s language, and the letter characters would also be readable. He doesn’t know why, but he thinks it was because he was in a state of being just a vague soul. Because in real life, he couldn’t even understand any single language he saw and heard while he’s still in the OOBE state. 

“4th Prince!”

Although the man outside was calling for a person entitled, “Prince,” which made Yi-Gyeol cringe a little, he must have been calling the young man in front of him. After hearing the title, he thought that it suits the handsome young man in front of him very well.

The young man called Prince was slowly looking around the room without answering the man outside. Deep, sharp eyes that could not capture any emotion shone in the moonlight.

The young man only moved when the man shouting on the other side of the door called to him for the third time. Then he approached the candlestick on the bedside table and allowed the man to enter the room. 

“Come in.”

As soon as he heard the young man’s low voice, the door burst open. It was a large guy wearing red armor. Wearing short dark brown hair and an intimidating impression, just by looking at his face, anyone would think that he’s a person who could be seen in the underground world of a foreign country. Each time he moved, a series of rattling sounds could be heard from the heavy metal armor the man was wearing. 

“Are you ok…! No, these bastards again….”

Upon seeing the two men lying on the floor, the man made a fed-up expression on his face. Meanwhile, the young man lit a candle in the candlestick to light up the inside of the room. 

“Drag them and find out who’s behind it this time.” 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The man in the armor bent down politely to the young man, then grabbed the back of the two men who had collapsed on the floor. A man who could hold one person in each of his hands and dragged them out without having any difficulty would surely be a person with no ordinary strength.

Yi-Gyeol, who was watching the scene even until the door closed, turned his eyes and was suddenly surprised. The young man, who was standing next to the candlestick that was lighting the room was looking around as if he were searching for something with his arms crossed, accidentally met his eyes. The young man’s violet hair, exposed by the light, stood out as noticeable as his light green eyes.