SIREN | Newjeans

First

Many tales are known to the world, but one that most people do not know is the tale of the two kingdoms, Aurelis and Valendor—one that shattered pride, love, and hope.

It was a quiet and peaceful spring day. Birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, and the blue sky cast a shadow over the vast green hills. Sunlight beamed on the walls of the magnificent castle, whose peaks touched the clouds. People were busy with their tasks: some were at home, while others were in the market going through the spring stock of wheat and grain. Workers and helpers moved around the castle, fulfilling their basic duties. What could possibly go wrong, right? Or maybe it already has...

"Shhh!" Danielle exclaimed, pressing a finger to her lips as she locked eyes with her clumsy sister. Minji made a sorry expression, and Dani turned her head forward. Dani was currently helping Minji escape the castle, trying not to be seen by the workers because they would eventually inform the king if they did. Both girls peeked at the front entrance of the main door from around a corner. A total of six guards were actively on duty, meaning there was no escape from here.

"We should just let go of this for today," Minji whispered from behind Dani.

"No! She would be waiting for you!" Dani whispered-shouted, taking her sister's hand and leading her somewhere.

The girls stumbled upon a small garden that was basically inside the castle. Minji roamed her eyes around, not knowing this place even existed in the palace where she had spent 22 years living.

"What the hell, Dani? Where are we?" Minji exclaimed, pure shock evident in her tone. The room was like a small garden filled with thousands of kinds of flowers and had gray brick exteriors, nothing like the gold-plated walls of the rest of the castle.

"I just came across this room a couple of years ago, though no one else except Father knows about this place," Dani said, pressing herself against a wall like a lizard and roaming her hands up and down, receiving weird glances from Minji.

"And what exactly are you doing with the wall?"

"Ahh, wait... Ah, yes!" Dani exclaimed as her hand landed on a brick that pressed further into the wall. The wall itself began to open, revealing a secret passage that could lead out of the castle.

Dani pulled Minji, whose face looked as if she had seen a ghost, and pushed her to go forward. "Go now and be careful so no one finds out," Dani said, whisper-shouting. "I will be waiting here. Go..."

Minji slowly nodded and wrapped a scarf around her lower face, allowing only her eyes to peek out. After checking a spare sharp tool in the knee holder of her leather pants, she paced off to her destination...

Dani smiled to herself, watching Minji disappear. She pressed the brick again, closing the tunnel. She twirled around in her long, light yellow gown, singing a random romantic song. She was really envious of her sister and her adventurous love story. To her, it was like a fairy tale—sneaking out of the castle to meet their lover. What could be more romantic? She also wanted someone special, but she had never stepped outside the kingdom, and the proposals from princes in neighboring kingdoms were way too boring for her.

Unlike Minji, who was into archery and various athletic activities, Dani was more like a pampered princess. Minji and she were only two years apart, but even then, Minji had been to various places with the king, while Dani, who wouldn't be able to defend herself if someone put a knife to her neck, wasn't allowed to leave the castle. Sometimes, Minji did take her outside, but she hadn't gone alone even once, even though she could if she wanted to. She valued what her father had said to her long ago:

"The boundary, Dani... The boundary is what I fear the most for you girls. Even if things seem amazing here, in Valendor, everyone is waiting to suck your blood."

Dani plopped down near a rose pot, mesmerized by the one rose that bloomed more than the rest. It had a darker color at the bottom and was pinkish at the top. It was even the biggest she had ever seen, but one thing that caught her eye was the stem; it had really dangerous and sharp spikes on it, as if warning everyone not to touch it. One thing the girl didn't notice was that another rose from the same stem was missing...

"HANNI!" Minji exclaimed happily, running in the direction of the girl she had called. Hanni turned around with a smile on her face. She had been sitting on a large rock near the valley, wrapped in a light brown blanket to avoid being identified.

Minji plopped down beside her, removing the scarf that was hiding her face, and looked at Hanni with a wide grin, hiding something behind her back.

"What?" Hanni asked, raising her brows, though the smile on her lips didn't waver.

Minji revealed the beautiful dark rose flower in her hands without any words. Hanni took the flower in her hands with an awestruck expression. "Oh my God, it's so beautiful!" she exclaimed, looking at Minji. Minji's grin widened. "But not more beautiful than you." Hearing this, Hanni got flustered for a second until a question arose in her mind. "But it's just a flower; where's the stem?" Hanni asked out of curiosity because normally flowers are given with stems to hold onto.

"That was really spiky, so..." Minji answered, and Hanni nodded. Minji then slowly moved her hand to intertwine it with Hanni's hand. The latter girl blushed and squeezed Minji's hand. They both sat in silence, looking over the valley as the wind stroked down the grass, moving in sync with one another.

"I wish it could be easier for us," Hanni whispered, looking down at her feet.

Minji knew they could never be one, knowing they were basically enemies. Hanni was the daughter of King Draven of Valendor, and Minji was the daughter of King Alaric of Aurelis. This created a huge wall between them that could neither be destroyed nor crossed. Valendor was the closest kingdom to Aurelis, but they were polar opposites. If Aurelis could be described as a beacon of light and prosperity, Valendor would be described as a beacon of darkness—a world that is corrupt, where hearts are cold, just like the place itself. Sunlight didn't seem to reach the kingdom, as if it had been cursed for ages. But Hanni was different, brighter than sunlight itself. No flower in the world could bloom as beautifully as she did. That was what Minji had fallen for, even though she knew they were enemies and would never be anything else in the eyes of others.

Haerin bent down to buckle her shoelaces while sitting at the edge of her bed. The silence was more evident than any other existence in the room; the only sound was the ticking of the clock in the dark space, which was filled with only a wall clock and a large bed—nothing more, as if it was a cell that the girl had made for herself. She lifted her upper body as her eyes lazily landed on the balcony, where a dark and ominously large crow with dark eyes sat on the cement railing.

A smile tugged at Haerin's lips as she stood up and walked toward the bird. Her heavy boots thumped on the floor as she placed her arm forward, and the crow climbed onto her arm.

"Siren," Haerin whispered, brushing her free hand under the bird's neck. Her smile didn't waver.

The crow suddenly started to squawk, spreading its wings as if it wanted to tell her something.

"Oh, my Siren, you do have something interesting to tell me, right?" Haerin chuckled. Just then, the door to her room swung open, revealing her little sister.

"Hyein, can't you knock first? Siren doesn't like it," Haerin said, rolling her eyes without looking back, just continuing to brush the bird's feathers.

"Haerin, Father called. Hanni... she..." Hyein said, barely above a whisper, her voice carrying concern.

Haerin frowned and turned around. "She what?" she asked, walking closer to her sister, who was holding back tears.

"She... she has been caught with Minji... the first daughter of..." Hyein began, but Haerin cut her off mid-sentence.

"The first daughter of Alaric!" Without another word, a smirk emerged on her face as she slid past Hyein into the hallway, with Siren sitting on the shoulder of her leather jacket.

"Finally, something interesting..."