The Black Fox & The White Tiger

White Confusion

Baekho stirred in his sleep slightly. He could hear noises but he just ignored them, thinking some castle staff was moving things around again. Then it happened. A scream. The voice of the one he loved made him open his eyes wide. He sat up in horror and quickly searched the room for Minhyun. When his eyes finally fell on the one he loved, his blood ran cold. Minhyun was falling into the embrace of a man whose back was facing him. He watched Minhyun's eyes flutter close and his hand tried to reach for Baekho. Baekho tried to force himself to move but the male seemed to notice his movements and turned his head back to look at Baekho. Baekho was startled, confused and stunned.

He was looking at his very own mirror image. The same brown eyes. The same nose. The same lips. Even his cheek structure was the same. Only his hair was completely different and he had little hoop earrings. Baekho found himself frozen in utter surprise as the male turned away, turned something on his wrist and disappeared into a bright light along with Minhyun. Baekho felt like someone was suffocating him. This was just a dream, right? There was no way. He turned his head to look at the empty space on the bed where Minhyun was supposed to be. He shook his head in denial.

"No... it's a lie. This... it's impossible," he muttered. He touched his body. He was real. He pinched his hand. "Ow-" Baekho gasped for air, trying to calm down. Think. That wasn't me. He shook his head again. He didn't understand what just happened. He couldn't understand. It all happened so fast even though time felt like it had slowed down just for him to see his doppelganger. "M-minhyun?"

This was not true. This was not happening. No. He won't let this be true! He got up from the bed and opened the bathroom door. Empty. No. He threw on a robe over his pyjamas and opened his room door. "Minhyun?!" He didn't care if the maids gave him startled looks. He started walking down the hallway, screaming the name of his beloved. "Minhyun! Minhyun!!" He didn't care if his voice was starting to get hoarse. He didn't want to accept what he had just seen. Someone, wake me up. Help me. "MINHYUN!!!"

"Your majesty, why are you screaming so early in the morning?" A familiar voice drew his attention.

"Kyulkyung... have you seen Minhyun?" He asked with a cracked voice. The other shook her head worriedly.

"No. Not at all today. Did something happen?"

"Yes... I'm afraid so. But... I can't explain... I don't know..." Baekho rubbed his temples and started pacing back and forth uneasily. The female could obviously tell that the king was very riled up and unable to form proper sentences.

"Shall I call the advisor? Maybe you could talk to him first," She suggested and Baekho quickly nodded. She bowed and rushed off to get the old man. Baekho groaned and squatted down, pushing his face against his hands. He could feel the warmth oozing from himself, telling him that everything was real. Yet his mind was playing tricks on him and trying to convince him otherwise.

"My king, what's wrong?" The old man's voice made him look up and there were tears in his eyes as he stood up and embraced the old man. The advisor patted Baekho on the back, confused but calm. "Please, explain everything to me slowly."

"I... I... I woke up this... morning. And he... was there... Minhyun... I mean...," Baekho muttered, throwing his words out in jumbles. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know if the other would even believe him. "I saw me.... and-and-and... I kidnapped... Minhyun. But that's impossible! I'm here... I didn't.. I didn't!" The advisor slowly moved Baekho away from the embrace and Baekho rubbed his tears away. He felt like a little kid crying like this but the realisation that what he had witnessed was indeed his reality now made him so confused.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you saw someone who looked like you kidnap King Minhyun?" The advisor asked plain and simple. Baekho vigorously nodded. He stared straight into the other's eyes to show him that he was being serious.

"I believe you. You're a terrible liar anyways," Kyulkyung said, having kept quiet for awhile. Baekho let out a relieved sigh. Someone actually believed him.

"Where did they escape to?" The advisor asked instead.

"I don't know... he-they just disappeared. He fiddled with something on his wrist and then they were gone. Just like that. With this light," Baekho replied as clearly as he could. "I didn't even have time to react."

The advisor and Kyulkyung both fell silent for awhile, thinking about different possibilities. Baekho grew fidgety again, knowing that Minhyun was probably not in safe hands and somewhere he didn't even know. "W-what do I do? Minhyun is gone."

"Calm down, your majesty. I believe this... person who looks like you is indeed you."

"What?! That doesn't make sense. Then who am I?"

"No, I didn't mean that you are not who you are either. But... this person might be you from a different dimension," the advisor corrected himself and Baekho was already giving him that confused blank look.

"Different dimension...? But... what does he want with Minhyun then?"

"That... I'm afraid I have no clue either. But we would need to bring him back, that is for sure. He is our king, after all."

"B-but how?"

"There is a way... We would have to open the portal that the previous king had once used to travel between worlds and someone will have to travel between those realms to find for the king. There are too many risks though."

"I'll go!" Baekho said loudly and quickly. "I'll do it! I'll bring him back!"

"That's not a wise choice. You need to be here to care for your people. We have already lost King Minhyun temporarily. You can't possibly go," Kyulkyung cut in.

"B-but."