The Chosen

Unaffiliated & Unfindable

Daniel's sleep was disturbed by murmurs that he didn't quite understand. He grudgingly opened his left eye to see what was causing the noise. The moment that he did, he sprang out of his bed, surprised with the sight. He was unsure if it was the real thing or if he was still dreaming. Everybody except him was already awake and was staring at him with confused expressions.

The Chosen Squad, on the other hand, were just casually chatting but stopped when Daniel abruptly rose from his bed and started staring at them. Unprepared for this situation, the eight of them looked at Daniel with a blank expression, confused whether Daniel was awake, asleep or a combination of both.

"Daniel-hyung? Are you alright?" Jinyoung carefully asked but got no response from Daniel.

"Daniel-hyung?" Daehwi called for Daniel again. This time he snapped his fingers in front of Daniel, breaking Daniel's trance-like state.

"Oh, yeah, I'm alright." Daniel said, "Uhm... why is everyone here?"

"Well, duh, it's already 9 in the morning. You are the last one up once again." Jisung informed Daniel.

"Really? Sorry about that. I'll just go wash-up, then I'll pack my things." Daniel hurried himself.

"Hurry, hyung! I am already excited for our journey." Woojin said enthusiastically.

"While waiting for you, we will order breakfast. Anything you like?" Minhyun told Daniel.

"I'll just have what you'll have!" It was all they could hear from Daniel before they heard the slam of the bathroom door closing.

"If you say so." Minhyun whispered to himself.

Food arrived exactly as Daniel went out of the bathroom. Daniel immediately packed his things. As for the rest of them, they prepared the food on the table neatly. When Daniel finally joined around the table, they all started eating.

"So, where are we going next exactly?" Woojin was curious.

"Hmm... I checked my map last night and our next stop is Neither Province." Daniel answered.

"Ooh... Neither Province." Kuanlin seemed interested.

"Why? What is it, Kuanlin?" Seongwu noticed.

"Well, Neither Province is a special place in the kingdom. It is the only province in the alliance that is truly independent." Kuanlin expounded.

"Really?" Most of them muttered.

"As far I know, back when everything was in order, every province in Hallyu respects and protects Neither Province's independence." Minhyun shared his info.

"That is also the reason why none of the Big 3 provinces or Bighit attempted to colonize Neither province yet. It remained independent up until now." Kuanlin added.

"Why is that so?" Jisung was immersed into the topic.

"Well, history says that Neither Province is where the kingdom was born. It is the place where the rulers of provinces back then met up and agreed on establishing Hallyu. After the kingdom was established, the seat of power was in Neither Province before it was transferred to YMC Province. During that time, Swing was YMC's capital city. However, with IOI ruling in YMC Province, its original ruler felt rather useless and inferior. For this reason, the YMC Province ruler at that time decided to separate Swing from YMC and make it a province in order for the Chosen to have a completely separate headquarters while, at the same time, give authority back to YMC Province's ruler." Kuanlin explained.

"Going back to Neither, after solving the issue on the Chosen's headquarters, IOI called for all the province rulers in the kingdom including those that were already colonies. Everyone signed the contract which states that Neither Province will remain independent and its independence shall be protected at any cost. It also must not be harmed any way during in times of war that involves any of the signatories. Refugees and fugitives from signatory provinces may also seek protection in Neither Province and get away with it. All the newer provinces to join the alliance were required to sign the said contract before they will be accepted into the kingdom; those who did not sign failed to become a province of Hallyu." Minhyun further mentioned.

"This means that we should lay low once we get there. We should be careful with our actions in order not to cause any disturbance." Daniel concluded.

Meanwhile, their conversation was cut-off by the TV delivering a news flash.

"Breaking News! Hipstars Province confirms the disappearance of Wonho, a member of their magical squad, Ex-Monster. This is now the sixth disappearance of several members of magical squads after Five-Sided Polygon's E'Dawn, Icon's B.I. and Landomom's Yeonwoo, Taeha and Daisy."

"Wow, that is some troubling news." Sungwoon commented.

"Other people are also disappearing?" Kuanlin stated, "I thought E'Dawn-hyung has shown up by now but instead, it is getting worse."

"All the more reason for us to hurry and assemble all eleven of you so that you can solve issues such as this one." Daniel chimed in.

"Says the one who almost slept all day." Jisung rolled his eyes.

The Chosen Squad agreed with Daniel's statement though. Whatever it was, they would definitely look into it if the matter was not settled before they take their thrones.