fifteen || wakening the sleeping monster

✧˖*°࿐

Taehyun didn't know what to do.

In front of him, who once was Karina, now was a menacing dragon that stared down at them like they were a five star meal, ready to attack at any given moment the second they decide to move away from the shield that protected them both.

His anxiety was soaring through the clouds right now, his heartbeat racing at such a speed he was certain he was about to have a heart attack, his hands trembling with so much fear that the suffocating air made his vision feel so blurry.

"Taehyun! Taehyun, don't lose focus, stay strong!"

The sound of Yeonjun's reassuring words and warming voice was enough for him to gain consciousness and focus his concentration once more for a temporary moment, his head slowly tilting up as the dragon in front of them breathed loudly, she was definitely pissed off.

"How are we supposed to fight her when she can literally destroy the palace in a few seconds?!" Taehyun asked urgently, lowkey (more like HIGHKEY) freaking out over the fact that he has to fight that scary thing!

"There's a few advantages that we have, but we also have disadvantages, which one would you like to hear?"

Just before Taehyun could reply to that ridiculous response, the sudden sound of a loud roar echoed out once more, causing the both of them to cover their ears before Yeonjun's head snapped up, immediately grabbing onto the younger as he bolted over towards a pillar and chanted a spell, causing a blue dome to form around them before the sight of a huge dragon tail came at them, hitting the barrier which reverberated loudly.

"Oh my fucking god!" Taehyun shrieked, clinging onto Yeonjun tightly as the tail striked the dome once more, the elder struggling to hold it up while holding the shield. "Yeonjun! Just spit out the advantages!"

"Okay! So," Yeonjun paused as he winced seeing a giant claw come down. "The throne room is huge, that's great! But it also makes her moves very limited! If she wanted to fight us in dragon form she should've fought us in the courtyard—"

"Yeonjun!" Taehyun hissed angrily, gripping onto his sword tightly as the elder had gotten side tracked. "Not the point!"

"Ah! You're right, anyways, basically in short is that we have enough room to move around and she's also only able to pay attention to one person at a time, she won't be able to destroy much or else this whole palace will come collapsing on all of us. I'm certain she is trying to avoid that due to the fact she wants this whole palace to herself, and building is a bitch!"

Taehyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, looking up as he watched as Karina roared loudly, her wings stretching out as it knocked down a pillar, causing the building to rumble from the sudden destruction.

Yeonjun was right, the throne room was uncomfortably huge but not huge enough for Karina to up and fly around without causing the whole entire building to collapse on her and everyone else who was inside the palace, and he would much rather not die by that!

"The disadvantages, however, is that she's a crazy fucking dragon who can probably spit out green flames and flatten us in an instant!" Yeonjun said, beaming brightly as he said that, his arms flexing the longer he held the shield up.

Taehyun's eye began to twitch, there's no way that he was really dragged into this with a 90% chance he was going to die! They're barely through half of the fairytales and they're already about to die?!

It didn't help either that they had a time limit, there was only fifty minutes until sunrise and they needed to end this fight fast, to save the sleeping monster upstairs from death.

As much as Taehyun hated it, he needed Beomgyu in order to go home... gosh! They always get into problems because of him, outside of fairytales and inside fairytales!

"Alright," Yeonjun spoke up, wincing as the shield was nearly shattered, it was obvious that the male was growing weak. "Here's the plan. Since she's only diverting her attention on you, you're the main target—"

"You're using me as bait?!"

"— you didn't let me finish! Anyways, yes I'm using you as bait but it's also your job to kill her! I'm gonna take this force field down, we'll both run in opposite directions, I'll go for the queen to get her to safety and shield you, but it's your job to kill her!"

Taehyun listened closely to the not so detailed plan, his eyes wavering in fear when he looked up and saw Karina's sharp claws digging into the marble floor, they were so sharp and ripped through it so easily — there's no way he's going to come out this unharmed.

"Do you see that glowing green ember on the center of her chest?" Yeonjun asked him, grabbing the males head to force him to stare at the direction.

Taehyun's eyes squinted slightly before nodding, he could see a faint glow on the center of her chest, that must be where her heart was.

"Strike that area, alright?" Yeonjun said, releasing his hold on the male before he grabbed onto the shield. "Okay! Now hurry!"

"Wait what?!—"

Just before the male could question what he meant by that, the blue dome around them suddenly disappeared, his eyes widening when he saw Yeonjun instantly run the away as he headed straight for the queen, a loud shriek echoing through the throne room when the dragon had saw him free from that dumb dome!

"Oh shit!" Taehyun exclaimed in fear, immediately running the opposite direction that Yeonjun had told him to do, his adrenaline pumping fast when he saw the dragon swinging her claw down to strike him.

In that moment, Taehyun's mind was blanking out as he started to panic, doing the only reasonable yet not so reasonable thing as he quickly threw himself to the side, rolling around before he crashed into a pillar with a loud groan, seeing a huge claw strike down where he once was.

"Okay don't die don't die don't die—"

Taehyun quickly scrambled up to his feet and properly held onto his sword, noticing an opening when he saw that one of the long dragon nails had gotten stuck in the ground, so without a moment to spare he charged forward and lifted his sword up, immediately swinging down as he was able to smoothly and swiftly cut off one of her talons, causing a loud pained roar to echo out as she retreated her claw, just a big piece wiggling in the ground.

"Ew ew eww!" Taehyun shrieked, waving his hand around in disgust when he saw it WIGGLING — WHY WAS IT STILL WIGGLING LIKE SOME LIZARDS TAIL? HE CUT IT OFF?! "I can't do this- I can't!"

Yeonjun, who was behind the dragon and tending to the queen, stared at Taehyun wiggling and freaking out, his head tilting in confusion as to why he was even doing that...?

Never mind that... he should really pay attention to the crazy dragon that was tweaking out in front of him.

Before Taehyun could freak out more and complain about the stains on his outfit and the gross smell of the dragons cut off talon wiggling around in front of him, he suddenly heard a loud roar which made his head snap back, his eyes widening before he was hit hard by a large claw and flung into a wall, a choked out scream leaving his throat when he made contact with it.

"Taehyun!" Yeonjun cried out, terrified after he just watched the male get swung into the nearest wall.

It seems like his loud cry had caught the attention of Karina who instantly turned around, her large wings and tail swinging around which caused some pillars to crumble from the impact, her cold piercing eyes staring at him until she saw the queen right behind him, her pupils immediately turning into slits as she roared loudly — definitely angry!

"Shit!" Yeonjun hissed out as he immediately held the shield up, a large blue dome forming around him and the unconscious queen as the dragon took a step back.

The scales on her neck began to move slightly until there was a faint green glow coming up her throat, Yeonjun, who finally realized what was happening, held up the shield higher before a huge waterfall of green flames came down onto the dome, causing him to scream loudly from the burning heat that surrounded the dome.

Shit! Shit! Yeonjun began to panic, his eyes wavering as his lips began to tremble, holding both of his arms up as he struggled to keep the shield up. My arms are burning! I can't — I can't let us die! Taehyun where are you?!

Just a few feet away was Taehyun who slowly sat up, his entire back aching with pain as he slowly opened his eyes, a hissed breath coming out when he looked to the side and saw the left side of his body bleeding. Oh come on! He just ruined his outfit with more blood, this sucked!

Looking up, his eyes widened seeing Karina shrieking loudly as she breathed out literal green flames onto a faint blue dome, his heart dropping when he realized that it was Yeonjun doing his best to shield himself and the queen from becoming literal ashes.

"Yeonjun hyung!"

Shakily stumbling back onto his feet, Taehyun clenched his jaw tightly as he held the side of his body which ached like crazy, there was no doubt that it was hella bruised with a large gash on it after being flung into the wall.

He had to muster up all of his remaining strength and stamina, picking up his sword from the ground as he securely tightened his grip around it before breathing out, looking for any openings as the whole entire throne room started to tremble more, the throne that was made out of gold slowly started to melt because of the heat.

His breathing became shallow as he opened his mouth, trying to catch his breath — yet it felt like his lungs were being crushed by the second. It wasn't until his eyes had landed on the two legs in the back, an opening was presenting itself right there!

So without a moment to spare, Taehyun breathed in a sharp breath before bolting towards the dragon, holding onto his sword tightly as he quickly slid down across the floor and slashed the back of her two ankles when he had gotten close enough, causing her to shout out as the green flames stopped.

Just as Taehyun quickly stopped himself from sliding more, he stood up and didn't waste a second as he ran back and aimed for her tail, dragging the sword across the skin as it cut through smoothly until he had successfully cut a giant line into it, causing her to whip around and throw him against a pillar.

"Taehyun!" Yeonjun gasped out, staring at the male who had suddenly crashed into one of the pillars. "Oh my god! I'm coming!"

"Stay there!" Taehyun growled out, slowly dropping onto the floor as his head started spinning. "Man Yeonjun! You didn't tell me that it would suck this bad—"

Just before he could complain more, Taehyun was suddenly thrown up into the air, the males eyes widening when he had crashed against the marble rooftop, a choked breath leaving out as he spat out blood — how the fuck was he not dead yet?!

Yeonjun watched in horror as the male was literally flung everywhere like a damn ping pong ball! It was starting to scare him how the prince hasn't died yet, he could still hear a faint heartbeat so he was definitely okay!

"Shit!" Taehyun breathed out, suddenly being pinned on the floor as a giant dragon claw kept him down, his whole chest being crushed as his sword as slapped away. "Yeonjun! Yeonjun the next plan?!"

"You have to kill her!"

"I can't — agh! Really do that when i'm — fuck! Being squished!"

Yeonjun began to panic as he looked over at the queen who was still unconscious, quickly leaving the shield in front of her. He ran over towards where the sword was before looking over at Taehyun who had a nail digging up into his chin while the dragon stared at him like he was a meal — oh lord this was getting crazier by the second!

"Taehyun!" Yeonjun called out, gaining the attention of both the prince and the dragon. "Here!"

Just as Yeonjun threw the sword, Taehyun's heart dropped the minute a huge wall of fire came crashing down onto the elder, his eyes widening when he saw a faint silhouette fall to the floor.

"Y-Yeonjun! YEONJUN!" Taehyun cried out, watching the flames engulf his best friend.

All of the pent up anger and emotions swelled around rapidly, breaking free from the bottle he had tried so desperately to contain as his vision flashed red, his jaw clenching so tightly that the veins on his neck and forehead began to show.

Quickly looking for an opening, his eyes landed on a faint glow in the center of the dragons chest not too far above him. So once he confirmed that Karina was distracted on burning his best friend alive, he grabbed the sword and held it tightly, his hands shaking as he felt the nail dig into his chin more.

I can't stand this fairytale anymore! If I fucking die I'm blaming it all on Choi!

Just as Karina unleashed a final scorching wave of flames onto yeonjun, she turned her enormous dragon head towards the male. Her eyes widening in shock as her pupils narrowed into slits when she saw the male give her a fierce angry look.

Without a moment to spare, Taehyun aimed his sword directly at her heart where the green glow was, using every ounce of strength that he had left, he hurled it with a powerful throw, the sword sailed through the air as it glinted in the fiery light, piercing her right in the heart.

He had done it, he impaled the dragon right in the heart.

With a loud shriek of terror, he was released from the large dragon claw when she had suddenly stepped back, thrashing around angrily as a huge mist began to surround her.

Taehyun, who sat there in shock, stared at the sword that was impaled in her chest, a faint glow illuminating from it as he sat up and started breathing heavily.

"Yeonjun!" Taehyun suddenly gasped, scrambling up to his feet as he ran over towards the elder who laid on the floor — nearly lifeless. "No! Yeonjun! Are you okay?!"

He immediately slid onto his knees as he gently picked up the elder, hissing softly when he felt how hot he was.

Yeonjun, who had his eyes barely open, had miraculously survived the waves of flame that engulfed him. There was faint signs of magic surrounding him, so he must've been able to summon the shield to protect him from the flames, yet there was huge burn marks all over his arms and on his cheek.

"Yeonjun!" Taehyun called out, his voice trembling as he shook the elder, trying to help him regain consciousness. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

His anxiety was starting to bubble up again, all of the anger and rage that he had once felt faded away when he saw how injured his best friend was — actually... the both of them were injured, Taehyun especially since he was literally thrown around the whole throne room like a ragdoll! It was a wonder how he was able to stand up, maybe the adrenaline?

His injuries were bad, he could feel bruises all around and his chest was hurting like crazy, he's certain he might've broken a rib or something. The large cut that was on his side was definitely bigger now, his vision was becoming all swirly from the amount of blood he was losing, but also his head fucking hurt! No fairytale should be this brutal?!

"Yeonjun! Wake up! I just stabbed her! Are you seriously going to die on me—"

"Man you should really shower."

Taehyun suddenly paused, his eyes widening when he saw the elders eyes slowly open, a grimace forming on his face from the amount of burns on his arms.

Oh thank god, he didn't die.

"Yeonjun! You're okay!" Taehyun said, even though he was overstimulated and overwhelmed with everything that had just happened, he was so happy to know that his best friend was at least safe. "What are your injuries? Do you need healing?"

"You're forgetting that i'm a good fairy, of course I don't need healing I could heal myself!" Yeonjun said, slowly sitting up before hissing, the stinging sensation of the burn marks were really bothering him. "However, my healing is weak... but if I get Soobin's cute self to heal—"

"Oh yeah, you're definitely fine." Taehyun scoffed, dropping the elder as he stood up.

Taehyun sighed softly and tuned out Yeonjun's complaining, looking around as his eyes landed on a lifeless corpse in the center of the throne room, his heart dropping when he realized that it was Karina who had transformed back into her human form, the sharp sword buried deep into her chest made his stomach twist.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay! Taehyun tried to reassure himself, forcing himself to look away. It's a fairytale, it's not real, it's over!

It was taking everything in him not to just collapse onto the ground and start fucking sobbing, hyperventilating for hours, and to scream all the pain away. It was really starting to crash down on him that he had just killed someone who was from his school, but... it doesn't count right...? She was evil and not the one he knew!

Taehyun immediately covered his mouth, feeling so sick as he gagged loudly, he was about to pass out the longer he stared at the body in front of him.

"Taehyun!"

The male suddenly turned around when he had heard Yeonjun call for him, seeing the elder waving over to him as he helped up Ms. Minatozaki, his heart racing as he forced himself to walk away from the body and over to the queen.

"Are you okay, your highness?" Yeonjun asked her, carefully holding onto her as she stood up. "Please be careful, you might be injured."

"I'm fine." Ms. Minatozaki shakily said, it was obvious she was very weak. "Are you two okay? What happened? Oh my — what happened to the throne room!?"

"Maleficent had attacked, Ms. Minatozaki," Taehyun spoke up, walking up to the queen as he held onto his side which hurt LIKE A FUCKING BITCH. "We came to stop her but then she had transformed into a dragon, luckily, with the help of Yeonjun, we were able to defeat her."

Ms. Minatozaki's eyes widened as she looked behind Taehyun, catching sight of the lifeless body of Maleficent behind him with the mythical sword of truth impaled into her chest.

"Oh my..." Ms. Minatozaki gasped in shock, covering her mouth before looking over at Taehyun who was practically shaking from his injuries. "Are you okay sweetheart? You killed her, didn't you?"

When he had suddenly felt two soft hands cup his face and a caring gaze examine the cuts and bruises on his face, the males eyes widened as he suddenly froze.

"Yes! Taehyun did defeat Maleficent!" Yeonjun beamed brightly, wincing after he strained his arm too much. "He's our hero! The kingdom is in great hands for the next king!"

"I'm so proud of you, Taehyun."

In that moment, it was like he had suddenly fallen down into a frozen lake, his breath hitching as his mind blanked out, the words he had suddenly heard repeating themselves in his head over and over again like a broken record.

just how long... has it been... since he had heard those words?

The male suddenly let out a shake breath as tears began to wield up in his eyes, it had been so long since he had heard those words that meant the entire world to him. After the incident, he's been compared to that Choi endlessly by his parents, they were never letting him live down what had happened on that night, he had failed them.

but now here he was, hearing praises for the first time ever in five years.

"Yeonjun! Taehyun!"

Both boys looked over behind them where they had heard a voice, their eyes widening when Huening Kai had came running into the throne room.

The male yelped loudly when he had accidentally stepped on Maleficent's cold hand, a wave of chills soaring through his body when he saw the sword in her chest, but that didn't matter now! Focusing back on the others near the throne, he quickly ran up to them — out of breath.

"Huening Kai! What's wrong? Is Soobin okay?!" Yeonjun asked urgently, rushing over to the male as he ignored how bad his burns were becoming.

"It's okay! Soobin's still using up all his strength to lessen the situation of the curse," Huening Kai said, holding onto the elder as his eyes widened seeing the bad burn marks. "Oh shit! Are you guys okay?!"

"We could be better," Yeonjun muttered, the pain was really starting to annoy him now. "Taehyun managed to defeat her, we're free of the curse and everyone is waking up! Wait! How's Beomgyu?! Is he okay?"

All of the color drained from Huening Kai's face when the elder had asked that question, it caused everyone (but Taehyun's) heart to drop down when they saw a frown forming on the males lips. Uh oh, definitely not good news.

"That's the thing..." Huening Kai shakily said, looking over at the queen and prince. "We thought that if she was defeated, he would wake up, but that's not the case."

"The curse had gotten worse."

Yeonjun gasped loudly in fear, a hand covering his mouth as his eyes were trembling. "That can't be true! She's defeated, he should be awake!"

"That's the thing! Actually — Soobin can explain this for you! We need to head to the tower asap! Taehyun you're needed as well!"

Ew! Why me? Can't I just rest? I literally just defeated a dragon!

Taehyun stood there and ignored the two fairies who began running out towards where the male was, it wasn't until Yeonjun had paused in his steps and looked behind him, seeing the younger crossing his arms as he stared at them angrily.

"Taehyun! Come on!" Yeonjun hissed out, a stern expression washing over his face.

Taehyun began to groan loudly, stomping his foot which he soon started to regret when a wave of throbbing pain went up from it. His entire body hurt! He was literally thrown around like a flour bag and now he had to walk more?! That's so bullshit! Why can't they just bring Beomgyu down to the throne room instead of—

"Taehyun!"

"Okay! Fine, I'm coming!"

✧˖*°࿐

"Soobin!"

The male looked up right away after hearing his name being called, his heart throbbing in pain when he had saw both Yeonjun and Taehyun enter the room with injuries all around.

"Woah," Taehyun said, his eyes widening when he saw the males appearance. "Did an elephant like... just shit you out? You look like shit."

"Thanks for the observation, crowned prince." Soobin said tiredly, it was obvious he was falling weak by the second.

The male was pale as ever, unlike the glow he had earlier. There were dark circles around his eyes as his eyes were slightly hooded, obvious that they were about to close at any given moment, he was also trembling really bad — especially his hands, from holding up a magic barrier around the sleeping beauty for a long time.

"Do you think you have enough energy to heal Yeonjun and Taehyun?" Huening Kai asked, even though he felt guilty doing so from how tired the male was, he was worried.

"I could try," Soobin breathed out, taking a step back as his magic around Beomgyu faltered. "But we don't have enough time, how much longer until sunrise?"

"Twenty minutes."

"T-Twenty minutes?! That won't be enough time!—"

Taehyun tuned out the three fairies loud yapping, pushing past Yeonjun and Huening Kai who seemed to not mind since they were preoccupied on whether Soobin should heal first or later, walking over towards the bed as the pink dome around the sleeping monster faded away.

The males eyes suddenly widened in fear when he saw the state Beomgyu was in.

Unlike earlier, the males state had definitely gotten worse than before. Instead of him trembling like he was freezing cold, Beomgyu was eerily still in bed. His face and entire body had lost all color and his lips were a horrifying shade of blue, dried blood all around his lips and chin as his eyes were closed as if he were asleep, which he was.

"What happened to him...?" Taehyun asked, slowly looking over at the fairies who stared at him with wide eyes.

"I tried my best," Soobin said, stepping forward as he looked down at the sleeping prince. "I did my best to lessen the curse, but it wasn't enough, I thought... that if Maleficent died, he would be okay, but it had gotten worse — he's dying faster than expected."

"What?!" Yeonjun gasped, his eyes wielding tears. "That can't be right! You managed to change the spell? Right?!"

"I tried! I could only—"

Taehyun, once again, tuned out the conversation in the background as he stared at the male in front of him, almost lifeless and a corpse.

It started to freak him out, his stomach started to form a swirling tsunami of anxiety and... fear? Why did he feel so anxious staring at the corpse in front of him? The once lively and really annoying Choi that he had been around half of his life, laid there lifeless and silent, it freaked him out.

"Choi, wake up, you idiot!" Taehyun scowled, slapping the male gently.

It wasn't until it came crashing onto him, his eyes widened as he instantly withdrew his hand and shakily took a step back, not only was the elder still silent as ever, but he also was freezing fucking cold!

The male glanced down at his hand which was trembling, why was he trembling? Why the hell did he feel so anxious?! Right in front of him was the person he hated the most in the entire universe, slipping away from life by the second, he should be happy! Beomgyu had ruined his life!

He should be angry, his parents told him to never trust Beomgyu again, they're right! The elder was responsible for his disqualifications in the dance competition he had worked so hard for, his parents were going to praise him! But until the elder had somehow changed the music and poured so much oil on the stage, causing him to slip, he lost it all!

His parents told him that once Choi was out of his life, he could finally succeed!

So... why did he feel so... so scared when he saw how ghostly the male was...?

"Taehyun? Are you okay?" Yeonjun's voice broke through his trance. "You're about to have an anxiety attack! Calm down, breathe!"

Taehyun blinked a couple of times, forcing himself to look away from the dying male on the bed, looking over at Soobin who was beyond exhausted. "Why the fuck is that asshole not waking up?!"

Soobin glanced over at him, a frown twitching on his lips as he glanced back over at Beomgyu who barely had time left, the hourglass symbol on his wrist was fading away by the second, once it was fully gone... he would be gone.

"Even though Maleficent is gone and defeated, all of her spells are gone as well, it seems like she had intended for this curse to continue on even after she's gone," Soobin explained, walking over towards Beomgyu. "He won't wake up, the spell is still activated, he's still dying."

Taehyun's eyes widened when he saw Soobin harshly grab the elder, flinching slightly as his hands started to tremble... why... why was he becoming angry? After watching how harshly he had grabbed Beomgyu, why did he suddenly feel some sort of flame ignite?

"This hourglass," Soobin said, holding up Beomgyu's wrist for the rest to see. "It signifies the amount of time he has left, once it fades away, he fades away."

"Okay! Quit with this backstory bullshit!" Taehyun grabbed onto the fairy, holding him by the collar angrily. "How the fuck do we stop this stupid curse?! It's this idiots fault we're in this situation anyway — maybe he should die!"

"Prince Taehyun!" Huening Kai gasped out, grabbing onto the male as he pulled him off of Soobin who just stared at him blankly. "You don't mean that! Calm down, you're most likely angry and overwhelmed after fighting Maleficent, you're also injured! Don't move a lot!"

"That doesn't fucking matter!" Taehyun growled angrily, slapping Huening Kai's hands off of him — why was he so worked up? He doesn't know why, it was like he had suddenly lost all control in his body, all the words he spewed out just came out without a second thought! "I need this bozo over here to stop being mysterious and tell us what the fuck to do!"

Soobin's eyebrow raised slightly, he had never seen the prince so angry and worked up over something, it was really obvious that Taehyun was both angry and confused as to why he was acting this way, so he decided to be nice and spare the male of his anxiety.

"I managed to lessen the spell, not fully stop it, there's a way to stop it but it's going to be difficult," Soobin spoke up, soothing out his shirt as he glanced over at Beomgyu, his eyes saddening seeing the male slowly die. "There's one way, but everyone in the land loves him, it's going to be hard."

"Just spit it out already!"

"In order to stop this damn curse and awaken the sleeping beauty again..." Soobin slowly turned to look over towards Taehyun, his eyebrow raising as if he knew something.

"...Is a true hates kiss."

what.

the.

fuck?

Taehyun suddenly froze in his spot when he had heard those five words, his heart dropping down all the way to the bottom as his stomach, his throat closing up when he realized that Soobin was dead serious about what he had just said.

"T-True hates kiss?!" Yeonjun exclaimed in shock, his eyes widening as small teardrops fell down his face. "That's impossible! The entire kingdom adores the beauty — it's impossible to save him now!"

"Soobin! Why couldn't you do a true loves kiss?!" Huening Kai asked desperately, growing weaker by the second as he tried to heal Yeonjun with the faintest bit of magic he had.

"I had to do something that'll counter Maleficent's curse, she had blessed him with beauty, song, and love from everyone, it was the only reasonable thing to do." Soobin said, looking over towards Taehyun who was frozen in place.

"True hates kiss... where are we gonna get someone who hates him?!"

"It's impossible!"

Taehyun stayed silent as a panicked emotion started to build up in him, his eyes lingering on the lifeless male on the bed as his breathing became heavy — there's no way that this was a coincidence — this was on purpose! Oh fuck this fairytale he hates it!

"You're right, there's nobody here, unless..." Soobin glanced over towards Taehyun, who immediately shook his head and started freaking out!

"No! Hell no! You expect me to — to kiss him?! Fuck nah! Ew!" Taehyun started to ramble on, shaking his head as he waved his hands around desperately, there's no way he has to go through this again! Was cinderella's kiss not enough?! "Find another person!"

"You hate him?!" Yeonjun gasped loudly, betrayed deeply that he had found this out. "Why do you hate him? He's your future husband—"

"No he is not!!" Taehyun cried out, covering his mouth as he was about to gag at the idea of KISSING Beomgyu again! What the fuck?! "I never want to get married to him!"

"Well the best you could do is save him!" Huening Kai said, desperate for the male to awaken. "He's your sleeping beauty!"

"He's a sleeping monster, an idiot! We wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't pricked his stupid finger on that dumb spindle!" Taehyun said, angry that he has to go through all of this again.

"You need to make your mind up right now," Soobin spoke up, walking towards the male as he gently grabbed him by the shoulder. "It's either save him now or regret it later, you may not like him, but a life is still a life."

Taehyun's eyes widened hearing that, his heart throbbing in an unknowing way as his stomach started to churn disgustingly, it made him want to collapse on the spot.

"You're overwhelmed, we'll leave the room, but you have ten minutes to decide whether you want to save a life or lose it," Soobin took a step back, walking over towards the other two who stared at Taehyun in shock. "The choice is yours, you make the decision wisely."

Taehyun stood there breathing harshly, his chest heaving up and down as he practically glared at Soobin who had walked out of the room with the other two fairies, most likely to go help heal Yeonjun from his burns.

This wasn't fair! It wasn't fair at all, how come after all the shit things he has to experience, he gets the worst ending out of it! He's bruised, bleeding, and icky after fighting weird inky shadow monsters and a dragon that literally played ping pong with his body — maybe he should let Beomgyu die!

They were in this mess because of him! This was all his fault, it serves him right to get what he deserves!

But... when the male had glanced down at the body on the bed, he couldn't help but be choked up and nearly sob at the sight.

Was he frustrated? Had he hit his head too hard? This was finally his moment to get rid of this pest that his parents compared him to for years, to finally rid of the anxious and suffocating life he had around the elder.

It would make his parents proud right...?

. . .

no. it wouldn't.

He would be stuck here, in this fairytale with no way out, suffering the life of a prince, that made him so miserable. No matter how luxurious it was, he needed to go home, and in order to do that... he really needed Beomgyu.

As much as he hated it, no matter how loud his pride was screaming at him to just storm out of the room, he knew that without the help of the elder, they would've never gotten out of Cinderella, without the help of the elder, they wouldn't be nearly done with this fairytale.

The spindle... wasn't... Beomgyu's fault.

Taehyun closed his eyes tightly as his brain started to hurt, he doesn't know what to do! A part of him was screaming at him to not do anything and just walk away — yet the other half, was telling him different, to just suck it up and get it over with!

His fists clenched into balls tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force as he opened his eyes, a shaky breath leaving him as he stared at the elder as the hourglass slowly started to fade away.

He could see the males breathing slowing down, a sign that his life was nearing the end.

So without a second thought, Taehyun approached the side of the bed and looked down at Beomgyu who laid there peacefully, all of the pain that was once on his face was gone, might be because of the way he was nearing the end of his life, a peaceful yet numbing death.

But he knew deep down, that he needed to go home, and the only way out was with Beomgyu. They needed to work together to leave, they needed to support one another despite their hatred towards one another to finally get out of these suffocating trials of hell.

So right now, he was fighting between pride and dignity, what was right? He couldn't tell, his whole entire life he had hated the elder, ever since everything was ruined and his parents seemed him unworthy.

But now here he was, standing besides the one person who had ruined his life with his own life on a thin thread, ready to snap at any given moment if Taehyun doesn't do anything to save him.

He hated it, what was this overwhelming feeling that overtook him? Why did he feel so choked up and suffocated the longer he stared at Beomgyu's pale face, why did he feel stinging tears wielding up in his eyes when he saw the elder nearly dead.

Why did he look so ugly when dying? Oh lord — it's like kissing a zombie!

Taehyun's bottom lip trembled in fear, his hand shakily coming up to brush the males bangs to the side, nearly gagging in disgust when he felt how cold he was.

Ewwww... don't tell him... he has to kiss this mother fucker with dry blood and spit all over his mouth?! Ew! It's like he slobbered over the damn bed before knocking out — also his lips were chapped as hell! Couldn't a nearly dead person at least invest in chapstick before dying?

Taehyun spent around five minutes freaking out, mentally sobbing as he really tried to fight what was right or wrong, until he caught a glimpse of the hourglass on Beomgyu's wrist which was faltering by the second.

That's when he really started to panic! He wasted so much time freaking out — he's about lose him!

With a loud gag, Taehyun held in his breath before slowly breathing out, he really was going to hate himself for this... but...

He did say that they'll go home, together.

So without a moment to spare, Taehyun leaned down and stared at the lips which were so so blue, it was really starting to freak him out now! Oh god — what if he vomits all over the elders face?! Serves him right —

"Fuck! Just get this over with Kang!"

Immediately leaning down, Taehyun closed his eyes as he pressed his lips against Beomgyu's cold ones, brutal emotions swirling through his mind as he tried to relax and leaned down closer, pressing harder against the cold lips that send shivers down his spine.

The male stayed there for five more seconds before immediately standing up, backing away as he covered his mouth.

"Fuck fuck fuck! Ew ew ew! I'm gonna sob to death — ew that was fucking gross!" Taehyun exclaimed, spitting everywhere as he tried his best to not throw up and collapse on the spot.

That's when his eyes widened, looking over at Beomgyu to see —

why... wasn't he waking up...?

"Hey!" Taehyun called out, rushing over towards the males side. "What the fuck?! Why didn't the- it didn't?! Choi! Choi wake up!"

Taehyun grabbed onto the elder and started shaking him desperately, his eyes shaking as he tried to look for any signs of the elder waking up. "Choi! Wake the fuck up! This isn't funny!"

It wasn't until he finally noticed that the elder had stopped breathing, his breath hitching as he immediately backed away, a suffocating feeling started to choke him as he stared at the now lifeless Beomgyu in front of him — it doesn't make sense! He really really hates him! The kiss should've worked ... why didn't work?!

"Fuck! No- no no no!" Taehyun started to freak out, turning around as he felt himself about to pass out and sob. "It should've worked — I'm trapped here- i'm trapped - Choi's dead—"

He's dead.

Choi Beomgyu is dead—

"Man why the fuck does it smell like shit?"

Taehyun's eyes widened in shock, his entire world freezing as his heart literally stopped when he had heard a deep grumpy voice speak up, his head slowly turning to look over towards the bed.

In that moment, he nearly fell to his knees and started sobbing when he saw the elder lying down on the bed with his eyes closed — yet he could see his chest moving up and down.

The kiss worked.

Beomgyu's eyes slowly started to flutter open as all of the color that drained from his face slowly started to come back, his pale blue lips returning to that pretty light pink color as his chest began to slowly heave up and down again in a perfect rhythm, which meant that the kiss, did work.

Taehyun stood there, turning his body as his eyes were shaking in shock, noticing how the hourglass mark started to wither away — no way! This idiots not dead?!

"Oh Taehyun!" Yeonjun cried out, entering the room right on time as he rushed over towards the male who was stunned, wrapping his arms around the male tightly. "You did it! You broke the curse!"

"B-Beomgyu!" Soobin gasped loudly, rushing over towards the male as he examined his state, shocked that he had awakened. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Taehyun stood there silently as he watched both Soobin and Huening Kai tend to the male who was slowly wakening up, all of his health coming back by the second.

It was all so heartwarming for the fairies, but why did it feel so... weird... to Taehyun?

The imagine was permanently pained into his mind, the lifeless body of the one person he hated the most in the world, pale and sickening. The way the elder had stopped breathing in his very hands as he remained still and cold — like a corpse.

It should've made him happy, happy knowing that his enemy was dead and gone out of life, knowing that he wouldn't have to bother with Beomgyu's annoying bullshit anymore.

But instead of feeling happy — he nearly felt devastated for a reason unknown, was it because he was almost stuck in this fairytale...? He couldn't tell.

Why did it feel so... terrifying... when he had saw Beomgyu die in his hands, instead of cheering — he nearly collapsed onto the ground in tears, why the fuck was he about to cry for that annoying ass fucker?!

"Kang...?"

Taehyun's head snapped up when he heard the elders raspy voice speak up, his eyes widening when he saw Beomgyu staring at him... why was he the first thing he called out for? Why was he staring at him with confusion, like an innocent puppy? This fucker is crazy!

But why... did he feel so relieved to hear Beomgyu's annoying voice again?

"What happened?" Beomgyu croaked out, rubbing his throat which felt like it was on fire, his eyes widening seeing how bloody and dirty Taehyun was. "Why the fuck do you look like you did ten cartwheels down a mountain of horse shit?"

Taehyun stood there silently before his fists clenched tightly, his teeth gritting against each other before he launched forward and immediately pinned the male down onto the bed, his hands digging into the elders disgusting collar.

"Taehyun!" Yeonjun cried out, about to grab the male before he was suddenly dragged out of the room by Soobin, which was unnoticed by the two boys on the bed.

Beomgyu gasped loudly when Taehyun had suddenly straddled him, his hands gripping the collar of his shirt as he yanked him up, forcing him to look at him, his eyes squinting in confusion and anger when he felt the heavy weight on his sore chest.

"Are you stupid?!" Taehyun spat out, his face all red and angry, beyond pissed off as his emotions spiraled. "Why- Why the fuck would you touch the spindle?! Not only did that make Maleficent stronger, but it changed the curse! Instead of your dumbass sleeping for thousands of years, you nearly died because your life force was draining! How idiotic can you be?!—"

Beomgyu's entire blood ran cold as he stared at Taehyun in shock. Originally, he would've been beyond pissed because the younger was treating him like this, but when he had heard the words that his life was draining by the second, he couldn't help but be washed down with fear.

"Do you know how suffocating it is working with you?! I had to escape some dungeon with the help of our friends who are fucking fairies — kill some weird shadow demon dogs which exploded this disgusting ink on me — then I had to fight a fucking dragon! Do you know how painful it was?!" Taehyun spat out, pulling the elder closer to the point where their noses were touching.

"I was thrown all around the damn throne room like a puppet! My entire body hurts!" Taehyun hissed angrily, staring daggers into the males soul. "You know what the worse part was?! I had to kiss you again because of some "true hates kiss" bullshit!  Do you know how awful it is to initiate the first kiss — again?!"

Beomgyu just sat there, his eyes widened in shock, whatever Taehyun had just said went completely over his head, he was only focused on the part that he... he had almost died...?

"That damn spindle almost took your life! Why didn't you avoid it — why did you prick your stupid finger? She changed the spell last minute! You idiot, I really hate you! I suffer so much because of you!" Taehyun exclaimed, tears of frustration wielding in his eyes which didn't go unnoticed by the elder. "You're lucky that the kiss worked — I really hated it! I should've just let you die because of how much I suffered because of you—"

"Why didn't you...?"

Taehyun suddenly choked on his words mid sentence, his eyes widened as the grip around the elders collar faltered. "Wh-What..?"

"Why didn't you let me die?" Beomgyu asked, his tone tensed and weak, staring at him in shock as his eyes were dull.

All of the burning anger and long rant that bubbled up in his mind suddenly blanked out, only the words that were spoken by the elder rang in his mind. Why did... why did he sound so helpless and defeated? Why wasn't he putting up a fight because he had kissed him again?

Taehyun opened his mouth to say a bullshit excuse, anything to get him out of that question, yet he found himself drowning in an ocean of silence. So without a second thought, he scoffed angrily and got off of the elders lap, allowing him to sit up as he stood up away from him with his arms crossed angrily.

"You're always saying that you wish I was dead, that you'll kill me one day," Beomgyu said, staring down at the blood stains on his clothing before looking over atthe younger who seemed a bit distressed by the question. "That was your perfect opportunity, you didn't let me die, so why?"

Taehyun clenched his jaw tightly as his eyebrows furrowed, glancing over towards the elder. "Because you're so stupid! We would've been stuck — I would've been stuck in this fairytale with your dead corpse!

It was the honest truth... so why did it feel so empty to Taehyun...? Was there more reasons as to why he didn't allow Beomgyu to die?

"That's not the real truth is it?" Beomgyu asked, throwing his legs on the side of the bed as he sat up, his body still sore.

As Taehyun gave him the silent treatment, it gave Beomgyu the chance to fully examine the state the younger was in. He was covered head to toe in bruises and cuts, his entire outfit stained with black ink or blood stains, he could tell that the male was beyond exhausted by how he was trembling.

The entire thing that he had told him about — it terrified him. He almost died in this fairytale, that wasn't supposed to happen! Fairytales are supposed to be happy so why the fuck did he almost die?!

It wasn't his fault either! Damn Kang always pointing fingers.

However... why did he feel... more relieved than angry because of the kiss...?

Just before he could question more, Taehyun suddenly sighed and turned around with his head down.

"Because I knew that if I let you die, neither of us would return home, alive or not, I had to save you."

That's when it came crash landing on the both of them, the suffocating air choking the both of them when they suddenly realized and acknowledged that they truly couldn't escape this fairytale fiasco world without one another, what had happened just now was a prime example of why they needed to work together, because without one... the other would be gone.

They could actually die in these fairytales if they weren't saved by the other somehow.

"Also..." Taehyun spoke up, his fists clenching as he tried his best not to be angered by all of this, as if he were giving up on his pride. "I guess..."

"...I guess... I did say we'll go back home together, so there's no reason why I should leave you behind, even if you really piss me off, you- you don't deserve to die."

Beomgyu's eyes widened when the male had said that, the arguments that were bubbling up in his mind suddenly faltered, all of the words blanking out as his breath hitched, his stomach feeling extremely weird in the moment.

That's when he slowly looked up and took a proper look at the males face, his heart... throbbing in pain... when he saw bruises blooming on his cheekbones, tainting his pure skin with dark colors.

Just seeing how bruised and fucked up, even more fucked up than usual, made him start to feel so... uncomfortable...? Why did he feel uncomfortable...?

That's when he started to acknowledge the pain that the younger must've gone through, because of his action, he had gone through all of that trouble just to save him — even if there wasn't much of a choice... yet he still saved his life.

But the words he said, started to leave a swirling confusing storm inside of his stomach, what does he mean he doesn't deserve to die?

It started to anger Beomgyu, why the fuck was he taking pity on him? Their entire life, they've been head to head and against each other, but when the moment finally came, he still saved him!

It really started to piss him off, mainly because... he doesn't know why he felt so confused about the whole entire thing.

So with a deep breath, Beomgyu looked away, trying to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry."

Taehyun's eyes widened when he had suddenly heard those two foreign words come out of Beomgyu's mouth, the elder staring at him with... saddened eyes?

"I'm sorry for getting us into this, I shouldn't have gotten angry about the dumb wedding news, knowing it wouldn't come true." Beomgyu breathed out, as if saying all of this took out all of his strength. "I was- I was just overwhelmed with anger and everything because of the situation we're in, but- but that- that doesn't just the words I said to you earlier."

"I'm sorry for getting us into this mess, Kang."

Taehyun's jaw literally dropped down to the floor when he had heard an apology- a real apology come from the elder. It started making him feel dizzy, there's no way that this was happening right now —

Throughout the five years the both of them knew each other, after every fight and argument, they had never once apologized to one another, only blaming the other further more. So right now, when he heard a full blown apology from the elder, he nearly thought of it like a pathetic joke... but when he saw how sincere he actually was.

It made his heart... throb in an uncomfortable pain, as if something deep down had changed.

After standing there stupidly for a few minutes, Taehyun hissed in a breath, scoffing softly as he crossed his arms.

"It's whatever, your dumbass never thinks before you talk, so it's not a surprise we had to go through this shit."

Beomgyu's eye twitched slightly, irritation rising up in his blood as he rolled his eyes with an annoyed smirk, okay now he was feeling the anger rising up.

"But..." Taehyun spoke up softly, this time it was different, as if he felt weak. "I'm.."

"I'm also sorry for what I said earlier, about the school thing..." Taehyun said, admitting truthfully as he stood there uncomfortably. "I-I... you're- you're not talentless, I shouldn't had walked out on you like that."

Once he finished talking, an uncomfortable yet awkward silence started to suffocate the both of them, their eyes lingering one another as the entire world seemed to blurred around them, their only focus was the person in front of them, the faint voices of three rats behind the door didn't bother them at all — nearly nonexistent as they stared at each other.

After at least ten more seconds of an awkward eye staring contest, Beomgyu was the first to break it as he looked away and sarcastically chuckled, his head shaking as he found this whole shit pathetic.

"I guess we're both stupid, but you especially, your damn anger can never be controlled." Beomgyu said, teasing the male who scoffed angrily at what he said.

There it was, the normal tension between the two started to come back after that AWKWARD ASS moment.

"However... after today, It really did show me that we do have to work together." Beomgyu said, standing up from the bed as he stood tall in front of Taehyun who was a bit nervous. "So..."

"How about we have a proper truce this time," The elder asked, tilting his head as he extended his hand out. "No fights, no arguments, only hearing each other out and- eugh- working with one another."

Taehyun stood there, absolutely fucking shocked, at what had just happened. There's no way, that out of the both of them, he would've never expected Beomgyu; the hard headed asshole who never wants to agree on things, would imitate the 'first' truce between the two in such a calm manner.

He side eyed the elder for a few seconds, his eyes squinting as he was really suspicious of this whole thing.

"Okay, well, are you gonna agree or not dumbass?" Beomgyu said, scowling slightly from how long it was taking Taehyun to answer. "My arm is getting fucking tired."

Even though Taehyun was fucking suspicious, he just sighed and gave up, there was no point in arguing now — he was also on the brink of collapsing.

"Alright," He spoke softly, extending his hand out. "No friendships, no strings attached still, right?"

Beomgyu hummed as he clasped their hands together, a smirk twitching on the corners of his lip. "Of course."

"Okay," Taehyun breathed out, an uncomfortable swirling feeling started to fly around his stomach when he felt his hand in the elders now warm hand. "A real truce this time."

The moment they shook on it and retracted their hands, the both of them just stood there and looked away, both of them dared not to speak up after that... because if they did, there was no doubt that one would mention the weird electrifying feeling that went through them, however, neither dared to say anything.

In just like that, a bright golden light flashed brightly, causing both boys to cover their eyes tightly as the entire palace started to rumble — the entire room spinning around as a golden dust started to surround them.

All of their injuries soon faded away, their eyes widening as they saw all of their cuts and bruises fade away.

It wasn't until the ground had started to crumble and open up before pulling both boys down another deeo rabbit hole.

"FUCK YOU I DON'T FORGIVE YOU!" Beomgyu screamed loudly, never getting used to the feeling of free falling so far!

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT BY THE WAY!"

As the two boys argued loudly, both of them ignored the weird sensations they had felt just a few moments ago, only arguments and harsh formed formed in their heads before Beomgyu was suddenly knocked silent, swept away as he fell towards a new opening.

A new opening to the next fairytale.

✧˖*°࿐

a/n : this was actually my first time writing such an action scene !! i hope it was okay since im still new to that! ^^

a new fairytale is coming upon us, shall we go under the sea to find out which one it is?

sleeping beauty arc completed !