ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗬-𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘
─◌✰್ 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝗄
❝𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗲...❞

"What do you have to tell us, Minho?"

All seven couples were now gathered around him, clamoring for information. Mya's eyes were wide, face flushed from all the arguing. Robin had her arms crossed over her chest, as she stood far away from Jisung. Alaska and Felix stood together, but refused to meet each other's gaze.

Minho glanced surreptitiously behind the group, checking to see where Yeonjun was. He was standing to the side, talking with the camera crew, who had finished filming a few minutes ago. The almost-duel had been a lot of drama, and with all the simultaneous arguments on top of it, they'd had tons of content. Now was the perfect time for Minho to tell everyone his theory.

"I think we have enough proof to confront Yeonjun," he began.

"What is the proof?" Jeongin piped up. "I don't know anything. No one's told me anything since we left to get JJ."

"We're so behind!" JJ chimed in, nodding at Jeongin.

"Well, first off, we got a physical description of Yeonjun in the book, and it sounds exactly like him." Minho glanced at Lanhua for confirmation, and she nodded. "And we know from his study that there is a woman who he used to love, because he had that creepy magic-created photo of her, and her lock of hair. That would match perfectly with the book, saying that he fell in love with a human who died, and he is now here to exact revenge on the rest of humankind. The book said that he would try to tear people apart, and I had no idea how he would try to do that. Until just now, when I watched Felix and Changbin, almost kill each other. You two were supposed to be best friends! And then, I saw you all argue with the people you're supposed to be in love with. I think this was all Yeonjun's doing. He put us all in this mansion together, and put us in scenarios that would stress us out. Cause us to snap. We saw those files he has on us, he knows everything. He knew exactly how we'd react to every situation. He was trying to pit us against one another, some of the most powerful people in Moonstone and Obsidian. And after he turns us against one another, it wouldn't take much to do the same to the rest of the kingdom. He's the dark spirit, and after he takes over our kingdoms, he'll take his daughter Tessa, the only human he loves, home with him."

The whole group stared at him, dumbfounded. Suddenly, he felt self-conscious. Was he going crazy? Was he the only one who saw what was laid out in front of them? If he didn't have the whole group backing his decision, there was no way he'd be able to take Yeonjun down by himself. He needed them all in agreement.

"Okay, so... what do we do about it?" Renee was the first to break the silence.

"Huh?" Minho said, stunned that anyone might just take his word at face value. That they might trust him, no questions asked.

"Yeonjun is the dark spirit, and he's going to try and break us all apart, right? So what are we supposed to do about it?" Renee repeated. "We can't just start fighting him. He's magic, he'd kill us all."

"We don't stand a chance against him!" Mya wailed. Alaska covered her mouth, and Riley nudged her in the side.

Minho frowned. Albeit loud, Mya was right. They didn't stand half a chance against Yeonjun. Not where raw power was concerned. Even if they had Changbin, who was a renowned personal guard, known for saving lives and defending people, it was no match to real magic. "I think, based off the information that Lanhua found in the library, and the stuff Robin and Jisung discovered in Yeonjun's study, we can bring this all to him, and get him to confess," Minho said slowly. "We can force him to admit what he's been doing, make it impossible for him to deny it, and then we bring it to my parents. And Tessa's. I have a feeling Yeonjun has been trying to tear apart these kingdoms for awhile now, and if we try to reunite them again, it'll hurt his plan."

"I bet he doesn't expect us to work together, does he?" Robin said eagerly. "I bet he thought we were gonna fall apart and start attacking one another!"

"Well, you kind of were," Minho pointed out, and she frowned. "But that doesn't matter!" he added hastily. "What matters is that we stand together now, and try to bring him in front of the kings and queens. They're the ones with the power, and they're probably the only ones with the ability to discipline him. To make him stop once and for all."

"I say we go over there right now, and catch this guy," Alaska said eagerly, gazing at Minho brightly. "Catch him off guard."

He smiled back at her, nodding. It was crazy that once upon a time, he'd had a crush on this girl. Not because she was unattractive, quite the opposite really. But as much as he still enjoyed her presence, things really had changed. And it felt good knowing that as much as he'd screwed up in the past, he had her as a friend.

"Yes, I think that's exactly what we have to do," he agreed.

"I think you should be the leader, Minho," Christopher suggested. "You're the one who came up with this theory, and you're the most determined out of all of us to make this right. I think you should present it."

"It feels like you're the only one who knows what's going on," Jisung nodded, adding nervously, "not that I'm lost or anything!!"

Minho steeled himself, standing up straighter, expression hardening. It was now or never. He needed to buck up, and stand up for his friends. For you. Even if he might not know the rest incredibly well, he knew that they would have his back. They'd spent so much time trying to help him take down Yeonjun, just so he could get back to you. And with their help, he would do just that. He could win your forgiveness, and the two of you might have a shot at happiness. He just needed to do this final thing.

The rest of the group followed him as he marched over to Yeonjun, who was just ending his interview with the crew. The tall, thin man turned slowly to face him, a knowing glint in those sly eyes of his. Deep down, Minho knew that Yeonjun had been expecting this, like he'd probably been expecting everything that had occurred up to this point.

"What is it, Mr. Lee?" he asked, nodding to the cameraman, who turned the camera off, and walked away. "I see you and the rest of the group have something to say to me?"

Minho nodded. "I think you know exactly what we have to say, Yeonjun. And I think you know a lot more about us, and about our kingdoms, than you let on."

"And why is that?" Yeonjun's brows rose, as he allowed Minho to continue.

"We found a book in the library. And it was all about dark spirits. The description sounded mysteriously just like you," Minho started, knowing he sounded crazy. "The dark spirit is here to take revenge on humans, because they lost their true love. And we found a photo of this certain love, in your study."

"Yeah, we snuck in without you even noticing!" Jisung called smugly.

"Robin and Jisung found tons of files, on us," Minho continued. "With pictures of us from before the show, profiles on everything about us and our personalities. We even found a lock of your lost love's hair. If that doesn't show obsessive, I don't know what does."

Yeonjun pursed his lips. "It wasn't very nice of you to go through my personal items, was it?"

"And even with all that evidence, I still wasn't sure if you were this dark spirit that Robin told us about." Minho ignored Yeonjun's words. They were all for show. "Until today. You egging Changbin and Felix on as they almost killed each other! Laughing at my friends as they argued with their true loves. It's almost as if you were trying to bring couples together, only to break them up. So they could be heartbroken, just the way you are."

"And what do you want me to do about these allegations?" Yeonjun raised a brow, almost bored.

"I want you to admit to everything you've been doing." Minho motioned to the cameraman, and he hurried over, trained to obey all royalty, especially the future king. "And you're going to do it all on film, before we go back to Obsidian, and you do the same in front of my parents."

Yeonjun's eyes glittered with amusement. "Well well well... you caught me." He raised his hands above his head in surrender.

"Huh?" Riley piped up, frowning in confusion. "Just like that, you're gonna confess??"

Yeonjun nodded serenely. "Yes, I am. You're all just too smart for me. I've been trying to take you all down since before this dating show started, and I have to admit, I've had a lot of fun. Watching you all tear each other apart at the seams, when you were supposed to be finding love, has been quite enjoyable. You were all incredibly clever to realize this. Especially you Ms. Choi, who knew that you'd heard a story about me from when you were a child?"

Robins cheeks reddened. "Well, I paid attention," she mumbled, ducking her head.

Minho frowned. This wasn't going at all to plan. "No, you're supposed to deny it!" he exclaimed. "This is all terrible, illegal stuff that you're admitting to! You will be imprisoned, or... sentenced to death for what you've done. My parents will make sure of it! You shouldn't be taking all of our lives and relationships so lightly."

Yeonjun chuckled. "Oh, I won't be going to prison. And I certainly won't be dying. I'm a spirit, remember?" His light expression immediately clouded over, leveling a dangerous look at the prince, then at the rest of the group. Minho gulped. "And you will all be on my side. You will not turn me in, don't you worry."

"And why would we do that??" Lanhua fumed, glowering at him in return.

"Yeah, you almost let me die!" JJ added. "My parents are shitty at anything but being rich, but they'll make sure you're put away, forever."

"Yeah, what could you possibly give us that would make us change our mind?" Minho snapped, blood heating. The audacity of this man was appalling.

Yeonjun gazed at them steadily. "You will all stay on my side. If any of you wants a happy ending with your true love, you will listen to me. In fact, you will all help me."

"No the fuck we won't!" Minho burst out, charging at Yeonjun. Christopher caught him by the arm, holding him back. "Why the hell would you think-"

"Minho."

He whirled around, jaw clenched, heart pounding so hard he couldn't think. But when he met your gaze, everything... froze. Time stopped for a moment, as he stared into your gorgeous, dark eyes. His throat closed up. God, he'd missed you. Had you gotten even prettier while you were gone?

You glanced back and forth from him to Yeonjun, and every time you looked away from him, Minho wanted to punch a hole through a wall. You should be staring at him, not that cloaked douchebag.

But then he realized you weren't smiling, and your eyes weren't shining in excitement at seeing him again. You were pissed. And based off the fact you'd just called his name, it was probably at him.

"Minho, I'm ready to talk. Now."

laska's note —
well... yayy our favorite couple is reunited!! the timing is a bit unfortunate, but it's just been such a long time since we've seen them together, and i missed them so much 😭😭 it looks like that long-awaited conversation is coming, and i'm personally a little worried for minho. but he probably deserves whatever's coming to him, huh? i wonder what they're going to talk about, and how it gonna end? And what about yeonjun?? he just admitted to everything, but he doesn't seem to think anything is gonna happen to him... why is that? will the whole group actually end up helping yeonjun? what do you think?? 🫣

also... ATE IS OUT NOW!!! go stream if you haven't already!! what are your fave songs on the album??? currently mine are chk chk boom, i like it, and runners!! but they're all so good it's really a no skip album for me!! and coincidentally skz comeback day is also my birthday! so happy birthday to me haha 😃🥳

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟱𝟬 - 𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀
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