Vivid | Lee Minho

•Scene 2•

You did not recall your first death.

But those that came after, you remembered vividly.

The death of the heart, body, and soul—every instance your life had been taken away from you at its bare start. You knew the taste of dying better than you knew the back of your own hands. It was a sensation that lurked between the shadows of night and slumber, never leaving you alone.

You were helpless in the face of death. Unable to move. Unable to save yourself. Unable to ignore it. It petrified you more than you could ever convey.

What was worse than the pain of dying, however, was the pain of being reborn in a life so entirely different from your past. The numbing heartbreak of being ripped away from the people you had grown to love, unable to tell them of your whereabouts and wellbeing. It was so unbearable that you began to vehemently avoid the people and places of your previous lives.

Soon enough, with the cloud of loss looming over your every interaction, you found it difficult to form relationships with others. There was no purpose in doing so when you knew that you were going to lose all of them shortly.

Yet, meeting and interacting with others was an inevitability of life. No matter how much you resented it, you still had to do it.

You were walking with Minho, heading towards the dining hall for your first family breakfast, when a voice sounded across the hallway. "Good morning, brother!"

A young man approached you, dressed smartly in a beige suit. He had hair the same dark shade as Minho's, and a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. Doe-eyed, he reminded you of a kitten.

Your husband smiled at him. "Good morning to you too, Felix."

Lee Felix was Minho's half-brother, born from a different mother. He was your age, three years a junior to his older brother. You noted that they seemed to have a good relationship.

But that friendliness disappeared the moment Felix turned to address you with a stiff nod of his head. "Lady Y/n."

He seemed not to like you very much, you also noted.

"Good morning, Lord Lee," you nodded back at him. It did not matter to you what sentiments he harbored.

"It looks like I arrived just in time!" an unfamiliar voice came from the opposite side, sonorous and cheerful.

On impulse, you turned in the direction of the sound.

Your heart dropped into the depthless abyss.

You could distinguish those features on any face, anywhere and anytime. That telltale curve of the nose. That facial structure, regardless of how faint. His countenance seemed to twist right before you, morphing into the faces of your nightmares.

He was well built, broad shoulders proud in his simple tunic. His long hair was tied and tossed in front of his shoulder, gentle black curls bouncing as he jogged. He wore a radiant smile when he bowed to you. "Greetings, Lady Y/n."

You gripped your dress so tightly it could have torn. He was neither the Prince nor the King. Who, by all stars, was this man?

"You are not of the Valorieve. Who are you?"

The stranger's smile faded at your cold tone, and he recollected himself with a cough. "You have a very keen eye, my lady. I, indeed, am not of the Valorieve."

Minho spoke up beside you, raising a hand to clasp the man's shoulder. "This is Bang Chan. He was adopted and raised by our family."

You might have heard of such a surname in town before, but it did not match his appearance. It was not the name a person of his birthright should carry.

That bright smile returned, paired with dimples, as he apologized bashfully, "My apologies for confusing you, my lady."

Your voice was stuck in your throat. Only with great effort did you manage to squeeze out a proper response. You did not want to look at him any longer. "It's all right. I, as well, apologize for my unseemly prior reaction."

You spun around urgently, tugging once at Minho's sleeve. "Let us head to the hall. We must not be late."

Your heartbeat was a drum pounding in your ears.

This was not part of your plan. Whoever this Bang Chan character was, wherever he had come from, he was not a player you had accounted for.