Cinderella's Fate | 🤍 seongjoong 🤍

Chapter 57

Narrator's POV

It was late, just past 7 p.m., and the palace was quiet, the night drawing in with a gentle hush.

     This was the time San had been freed from his exploration duties, finally able to finish writing his report. According to standard royal palace protocols, every discovery had to be recorded in detail. That way, all information could be traced, archived, and used in future legal or historical contexts. And since this situation was the most serious the palace had seen in over two hundred years, they had to make sure the next generation would have everything they needed to solve it faster, if it ever happened again.

     San headed down the corridor toward Jongho's office, a file clutched under his arm. Inside were printed photographs of the hidden passage, detailed notes on the worn steps, Yunho's measurements, Mingi's diagrams, and San's own sketches and findings. It also included summaries of the work Yunho and Mingi had contributed.

He didn't bother knocking.

"Get ready," San said as he swung the door open.

"If you're not knocking, it must be serious," Jongho replied, looking up from his desk.

    The two of them shared what they'd learned, laying out the files across the table. They drew connections between details, matching up Yunho's structural assessments, Mingi's spatial readings, and San's firsthand observations. Together, they began forming a backup strategy, Plan B.

    Plan A was simple, Yunho, Mingi, and San would pass through the portal to investigate. But Plan B was just as important, preparing support from this side. Tracking their location beyond the portal, keeping a line open for emergency retrieval, and setting up a way to monitor any signals that came through. Every detail had to be accounted for.

As they finalized the plan, Jongho paused, flipping through his messages.

"Oh, by the way," he said, "Wooyoung came by earlier. He was asking for you."

San couldn't help but grin.

 "Of course he was."

     Despite all the chaos and the pressure of the mission, Wooyoung always found a way to make things lighter. After all the late-night meetings and report sessions, San had grown closer to the others, especially him. He was annoying, sure, but funny. Dependable in his own chaotic way.

Jongho leaned back in his chair, stretching. "I'll get this filed and send a summary to the central archive tonight."

San nodded. Everything was ready. Now all they could do was wait, and prepare for whatever came next.