𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕆𝕦𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 (ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕥)

Chapter I: Crowned Prince

   'I did it...Eomma'

   Sirens can be heard as they came closer, but the child remained unmoving despite the close distance between him and the fire. Soon however that cheeky smile disappeared and he flinched away, falling on his butt as the bloody knife in his hand fell onto the pavement.

   "Yeonjun!"

   "Junie..."

   "I told you to stay in your room, Yeonjun!"

   'Eomma? Why can't I remember anything?'

   "Yah you brat!"

   "Yeonjun-ah put that knife down please. Yeobo calm down!"

   'What happened to me?'

   "Yeonjun?" Startled, the young boy tried to crawl away from where the voice was coming from, his elbows harshly skidding against the pavement. He barely registered the pain though, as he watched a woman who he recognized to be his neighbor. His eyes widened as her concerned expression morphed into one of pure terror, stepping away from him in a hurry. That was when his ears took note of the blaring noise of the firetruck and police cars all headed his way.

   "Eomma..." He whimpered, the situation finally sinking into his mind. "Where's Eomma?"

   He looked down as his hands, horrified by how bloody they were. Breath quickening, he started panicking, hastily trying to wipe the blood off on his clothes. He didn't know what was happening, he didn't remember.

   "Officer!" He could hear his neighbor lady calling out to the police but all the voices blended into one as his ears rang. Still sitting down on the ground, his hugged his knees to his chest, crying for his mother as choked screams escaped his mouth.

   Memories from that morning flashed before his eyes.

   "Eomma!"

   "Junie, I'm okay. Just go up to your room and play games okay? I'll bring you breakfast."

   "I told you I won't just sit back when you hurt her anymore!"

   "I told you to stay in your room Yeonjun!"

   "Yah! You brat!"

   "Yeonjun-ah you're going to hurt yourself!"

   "I'll kill you!"

   His trembling hands clutched his head, pulling at his hairs. Did he actually-

   "Jun-ah!"

   His head snapped up at the sound of a familiar voice, eyes settling on a lean man with blonde hair who rushed to him. With new found strength in his limbs, he pushed himself off the ground and got up, wasting no time to run into the arms of his uncle, Namjoon. He cried uncontrollably, eyes puffy and red at that point.

   "Aigoo, my baby."

   "Samchon..." He called out through sobs muffled into Namjoon's uniform. "I did something very bad."

   "What are you talking about?" The older man pulled away from the boy, his worried eyes looking at every crevice of Yeonjun's body for injuries. With the amount of blood on him, he assumed the worst, but seeing him able to move lightened that worry a bit. What he was not assuming in the least was to not find even a single scratch on the young boy.

   "It's not mine," Even though it shouldn't, that statement sent a chill down his spine. His eyes met his nephew's golden orbs, dissecting the clear fear and pain in them. "The blood. It's not mine." At that moment, as he stood before the only person he now had to turn to, he knew. Even though he didn't have a single recollection of the incident, he knew. He knew he was guilty.