I found a secluded alcove away from the crowd where I could be alone with my thoughts. If someone had told me this time last year that I would be minutes away from welcoming in a new year with the love of my life while my twin sister was my surrogate, I would've asked them what drugs they were on. I giggled to myself when another thought popped into my head. If the same person said I would spend New Year's Eve with some of the top K-Pop idols who weren't actually idols, I would have taken them to the nearest mental health ward—they were clearly in a delusional break.

'Yet, that's precisely where I am... Hiding at a party with some of the hottest men in the Korean music scene.'

Tomorrow marks both New Year's Day and the midway point in our Rotation. All the summer Seed Bearers and their assigned females were gathered at a large party so we could ring in the new year together. Taehyung joked that everyone was gathering to celebrate his birthday. He looked so happy that none of us had it in us to crush his heart.

Unlike the 100-day celebration, this party was being held in Seoul. Both Jimin and I were relieved that Esther wouldn't be left by herself for weeks while we travelled to another city. The downside was that he and I had to stay in the palace. We were hosting the Suwon group... aka ATEEZ and their assigned females. It was the most logical choice because Seonghwa is Jimin's cousin. Even though Hongjoong is related to Seokjin, he has been staying with us since Stray Kids were at Seokjin's palace.

While Esther had not yet stepped into my shoes to meet the other couples from the Seoul group, she had filled in for me on more than one occasion when ATEEZ were in the palace. The first time she returned to the cottage after meeting our guests, she fangirled for a good half hour over meeting Wooyoung. I heard all about his looks, how he was just as flirtatious as he was in our universe, and how funny and cute the grey-haired man was when being silly. Jimin told me that none of the eight Seed Bearers—particularly Seonghwa and Hongjoong whom I knew the best—had seen a difference in 'my' behaviour.

As many of the groups had come from cities far away, they had brought some of their families with them. The groups from Daegu (Oneus), Gwangju (Seventeen), Daejeon (Monsta X) and Busan (Stray Kids) in particular had travelled up with some of their family members. Because Incheon and Suwon were close enough to Seoul, the Astro and ATEEZ groups had travelled without their families.

Tonight, we gathered for a big banquet to celebrate the new year. Afterwards, there would be a party for everyone to catch up. Tomorrow was set to be a more chilled and relaxing day—games and other festivities had been planned out. Esther and I decided that I would attend tonight's party while she would go tomorrow in my place. It would be the ultimate final test to see if she could impersonate me well enough to fool everyone.

"Ah, this is where you're hiding," Seonghwa's deep voice rang out. The cushion of the armchair I was in dipped when he sat down.

"I needed some time to myself," I murmured as if I was revealing a state secret. "And why Mr Party Animal are you hiding away instead of being your charming extroverted self?"

Seonghwa lifted a finger and tipsily shushed me. "Don't tell my cousin... I'm hiding—he is trying to get me to drink more."

I giggled, nodding because I could imagine Jimin doing that. Unlike the Christmas party we had hosted at the palace a few days ago, my boyfriend was on his way to being drunk. He was toasting with the other Seed Bearers whose females had completed their assignment. So far, about 2/3 of the women were experiencing healthy pregnancies. I'd been saddened to hear that there had been two miscarriages. DK from Seventeen's female and the female assigned to Monsta X's Kihyun had both lost their babies. Because they had been logged as having their assignment fulfilled with a conception, no harm would come to the two women.

"You two look so good together," Seonghwa said to me with a genuine smile lighting up his handsome face. "I've never seen Jimin look so happy. You know, it took him so long to decide on the dress you're wearing."

I quirked an eyebrow at the other Seed Bearer's statement. "That doesn't sound like my Jiminie. He normally has a good eye for what will look good on me."

"Don't get me started on how much he talked about you. He told me things I didn't need to hear." I couldn't help but bark out a laugh, followed by an unladylike snort at that. Thankfully, Seonghwa didn't comment about my embarrassing sounds or my face, which I was sure was as red as his hair. "Every dress was stunning but Jimin kept sending them back. 'Too sexy, only I can see her like that', 'Not sexy enough, Nell is too beautiful to be wearing a potato sack'... or my favourite, 'Keep that one because I want to rip it off her'."

I looked down at the dark emerald green gown I was wearing. It was stunning but learning how much thought Jimin had put into choosing the perfect one made me love my boyfriend more. When I first saw the body of the dress, I fell in love with how it was covered with a fine glitter that shimmered with each movement I made. The show-stoppers, though, were the velvet cloak sleeves that draped over each of my shoulders. The way they fell to the floor with the rest of the dress, gave me some extra warmth with just the right amount of drama.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I was startled by the deep voice of a man as he entered the alcove. I had no idea who he was or who he'd come here with; his black hair told me he was not a Seed Bearer. The alcohol in his glass spilt as he gesticulated towards Seonghwa and me. "My cousin told me all about you and I see she was right. I see it's true that you are hypnotising and weaving men under your spell. But you won't get me. I won't let you infiltrate my mind."

"Do you hear the utter shit that's coming out of your mouth?" Seonghwa's deep, menacing laugh filled the space. A shiver ran down my spine as he rose to his full height with a furious glare. The look in his eyes reminded me of the demon persona that Seonghwa was known for when he was performing. In two strides, the red-haired Seed Bearer towered over the shorter man. Power radiated off him as he snarled, "Speaking disrespectfully about either a Seed Bearer or an assigned female can be grounds for an immediate arrest. You do know that, right? Or are you as idiotic as you sound?"

The man snorted as if the crimson-haired Seed Bearer told an amusing joke instead of a threat. "You may be a Seed Bearer but she's not worthy of being an assigned female. She's nothing more than a witch who should be dealt with swiftly if you don't want her to curse you like she's done with others." The man laughed before adding, "Maybe I should be the hero and kill the witch before she destroys us all. I can see it now—I'd be the one celebrated instead of all the abominations."

Usually, I would avoid a confrontation before it intensified. As I shook like a leaf, my feet stayed rooted to the ground no matter how much I tried to will them to move. My mind was awash with conflicting emotions. The reason behind his calling me a witch in various ways perplexed me. The threat to my life was terrifying. However, the predominant feeling was concern. The man's identity, as well as that of the 'cousin' he mentioned, were both unknown to me.

'Is he calling me an abomination because he thinks I am a witch? Or does he know that I'm not from this universe?'

My eyes were wide open, yet I was unable to focus on anything. I could feel my breathing turn a complete 180° from calm and even to quick and shallow. I was spiralling all because of that one unsettling thought that crossed my mind.

It felt as though I was observing everything through a fog; my anxiety attack served as a shroud that dimmed my vision and decelerated my reactions. I was somewhat conscious of Seonghwa leaping to my defence.

"Someone ... here now! ...what the fuck ... about! ... crossed the line ... leave—I don't care ... invited ... Guards!"

My heart pounded so hard that it drowned out most sounds around me. Its rhythm was like a fierce thunderstorm rumbling in the distance or a massive group of drummers all playing together in a chaotic symphony. The intensity of the thumping made it hard to focus on anything else.

My senses became overwhelmed. The atmosphere became heavy with tension as I couldn't shake off the man's words that kept replaying in my head on an endless loop. I grasped at my throat, attempting to alleviate the tightening grip of the imaginary boa constrictor that seemed to be suffocating me and depriving me of oxygen. My ballgown felt like it too had begun constricting me; I tried to remove it. I tried to shake off the extra snakes that slid and wound themselves around my body, rendering me immobile. The last thing I remembered was screaming for someone to save me from the fucking serpents.

⋆⁺₊⋆ 💜 ⋆⁺₊⋆

Upon returning home and changing out of my ballgown, I engaged in a closely contested chess match with my cousin in the living room. To an outside observer, it might have looked like I was putting a lot of thought into each of my moves. In reality—I was planning out what was going to happen once my cousin and I were alone. Eventually, I said goodnight to the Seed Bearers from Daegu, their assigned females and the man I was assigned to as they all made their way to bed.

Despite my desire to sleep, I had to wait until we were alone before I dragged my dipsomaniac cousin outside with me. On the walk into the woods, the rage burning within me was so intense that I didn't feel the chill in the air from the falling snow. My fury might have been fuelling me, but that didn't mean it clouded my reasoning. This conversation was one that I couldn't afford to have overheard.

As soon as we were deep enough into the woods, I screeched to my cousin, "Do you know what the fuck you have done?"

"You think I'm going to let that witch put a spell on me?" Woo-Sung spat back, his speech slurred. It was clear that he was too drunk to feel the coldness seeping through his pants as he sat in the snow.

I rolled my eyes as I spun on my heels. My cousin lived up to his name; Woo-Sung meant quick to anger and rage. His tendency to become argumentative when he drank didn't help matters.

"So, you decided to ruin everything for me by calling out the witch and 'preventing' her from putting a spell on yourself?!" I couldn't tell if it was the cold that was causing Woo-Sung to tremble or if it was that I was beginning to scare him. Either way, I didn't care. My plan was too important for an insignificant pawn like him to fuck everything up.

The more rage that coursed through my veins, the more I felt like a snake coiling and readying itself to strike. "Fuck! I told you that if you came you'd have to be on your best behaviour, Woo-Sung. Did you do that? Hell no!" The steam billowing from my mouth as I shouted gave the impression of a dragon exhaling smoke. In a way, I was like a dragon—ready to burn my prey alive. "You could have ruined everything, Woo-Sung! No one but my friend knows who I am, and I need it to stay like that!"

I felt nothing but resentment as my cousin wept as he sat in the snow. Unlike him, I wasn't using my standing in society to define me. He saw his black hair as an impediment, while I regarded my femininity as a source of strength, even though many pitied women. He thought he was owed everything because of the life he was born into. I was doing everything I could to soar above the life I'd been given. But the biggest difference was how we saw the men with colourful hair. Woo-Sung regarded the Seed Bearers as abominations; however, in my view, it was my cousin who was the true abomination. Seed Bearers, to me, represented my path to the life I was destined to live.

Pathetic slurred words of apology came from my cousin, but I wasn't sure what he was saying sorry for. Was it for what he had done or the yellow puddle that was beginning to stain the white snow beneath him? He often brought disgrace upon me, and at times like these, I was grateful that Woo-Sung and I were not related by blood.

"As much as I'd love to leave you here, there would be too many questions if you turned up missing," I snarled, bending down and hooking an arm under his armpit. The smell of alcohol mixed with urine made me want to vomit.

By the time we had reached the house, my throat was raw from breathing cold air in through my mouth. Despite the pain it caused, it was much better than the alternative. I assisted Woo-Young into the room he was staying in. Instead of being gentle and placing him on the bed, I dropped him onto the hard tiles of the bathroom.

"Clean yourself up. You're a fucking disgrace."

I stormed to the door, not even sparing a second look at my cousin as I left. I was done with him; from that moment on, he would be out of my life. To be honest, I didn't even care if he choked on his own vomit.

As I walked into the bedroom I was staying in, I sent out prayers to every deity that my idiot cousin hadn't derailed my plans by running his mouth. If he did, he would be joining his black-haired father in the afterlife sooner than he thought.

'Like father, like son. At least Woo-Sung isn't a fucking pervert like that paedophile was.' 

* I promise, all will be revealed soon! Who do you think the villain is?