Refresh (Stray Kids Hwang Hyunjin)

Ten

Day 6 (my-MyDay-self cannot contain the snickering): Out of all of the books in the Wonderland Trilogy, which one did you enjoy the most (including this one based on how it seems so far)?

My Answer: I don't know. I don't read my own stories but so far this one is the most fun to write. I guess it's because I've been inspired by a book I'm currently reading ('The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak) and it has made me try to describe the atmosphere. It's hard to remember that this isn't in Death's POV like in the book though... 

The wind blew hard, making its effect on almost everything it hit in its course. A mixture of rain and hail fell hard onto surfaces. The loud thump of the balls hitting concrete, wood or whatever the material had been was enough to make even a grown person jump.

 Despite the progressing chaos outdoors, Mark, Lori and Alex sat at the dining table, a cup of tea in each of their hands. They stayed silent for a few moments as they listened to the others' sipping sounds. That was until the clouds decided to play a deafening chorus of thunder which caused all three teenagers to shudder.

"That's it!" Lori gave in and placed her cup back on the table. The clank it made was no match to the orchestra outside but it was enough to snap Alex out of her daze. "I'm already so darn scared and this weather isn't helping my case. Why can't it be sunny for goodness' sake? That's all I ask for!"

"Why are you scared?" Mark asked obliviously. He was the only one that was relatively okay with the weather. It was just mother nature after all, what could they do?

"Um, hello? Maybe because Alex literally has a stalker!" 

"And what does the weather have to do with it?"

"Usually crimes happen in gloomy, eerie conditions like this... Have you not watched any horror movies or played any horror games?"

"The 'stalker' unlocked her window and climbed into her room at night and is constantly watching her. I don't think rainy weather will be what gets him or her fully out of hiding."

"Then what will?"

"Well clearly there's a reason he or she hasn't struck yet. The person is waiting."

"For what?"

"The right moment."

"Ridiculous," Lori huffed, sipping her tea once more. "Whoever it is had plenty of opportunities to attack. Alex isn't really the strongest girl out there..."

But maybe it wasn't Alex he was waiting for.

Maybe it was someone else in a different world.

***

"So you're just going to throw it away?" Hyunjin huffed, hands on hips. "You spent twenty years training to be a King or a proper prince for that matter and you're just going to throw that all away?"

"It's not like I had a chance of being King anyway. Even if you pass on, there's still the Bang, Kim and Lee families standing before me. I'll never get a chance."

It was a cold yet sunny afternoon. The sun sat low in the sky, tied on the end of a rope of clouds but still shining its bright shite rays down on the land. Chilled breezes came from the West. It was reported to be snowing there a few days prior and the royal family had promised to be down there to check it out within the next five days. Snow was unheard of in Wonderland. It was always warm and hot. The worst things got was a heavy rain lasting a few days but each day was pretty much identical. The climate there was equivalent to the equatorial climate found on Earth, with only a few exceptions. 

 Sitting in the royal garden on one of these unusual cold days wasn't what most of the royal family members fancied as part of the day's errands but here Hyunjin and Changbin sat, consumed by the dry, frosty air.

"Remember King Yujin of the fifteen century? He was the youngest of twenty-four brothers... yet he still became King."

"That was only because he was underage during the Ardian War and his brothers either died in it or died a few weeks later from fatal diseases they caught. The last war in Wonderland was the Naymoor War and that was centuries ago."

"But things are changing," Hyunjin said as if someone had forced him to digest the words though not wanting to. It was true though and all the signs were pointing to it. The Fifth Prince longed to confess that he had heard someone say things were going to change before, but after everyone in the palace found out about the black magic incident (all thanks to Seungmin and his big mouth), he had already put his family's name in enough jeopardy. His father was not at all impressed when the news landed on his table. It cost Hyunjin a whole week in his father's office as he went on about how he is almost King and should 'grow up already'.

"What? Really? I hadn't noticed," Changbin replied sarcastically but there was an unsaid sentence behind his dark, secretive eyes. The description, Jinyoung thought, was quite fitting for what he would later get himself involved in. But you'll figure that out later on. Enough with the spoilers.

Now it's time for the downfalls.