The ear shattering sounds of gunshots pierced through the silent night. Smoke engulfed the small apartment as men in black barged into it with guns in their hands and murderous intention in their hearts.

"Find her!" one of the men ordered. "She mustn't escape!"

The men obeyed and spread out to look for their target. The door had been shot down for forced entry and the entire building had been forced to be evacuated by the Company for this operation. They must complete their mission otherwise it would be catastrophic.

Scanning around, the men were scavenging for their prey but there was no one in the apartment.

"All clear!" one of the men announced.

"But we secured all exits!" another man claimed. "She couldn't have escaped!"

Just then, another man entered the apartment. Unlike the others who wore simple black uniforms, this man was donning a long red coat with the Imperial Coat of Arms on it. He was tall and domineering. His hawk-like eyes were gazing at the place while his sixth senses tingled.

"General Yang!" one of the men saluted him. "We can't find her anywhere! She has escaped."

"She's still here," Yang said in an authoritative tone. "I know they are. Search again. I know Kim Areum is still here. Master Jonghyun gave us orders to kill her on sight. We can't fail."

The men obeyed and continued to search every inch. Their footsteps thundered the floor, causing the ground to almost shake with their monstrous strength. Unbeknownst to them, beneath a thick floorboard was a secret compartment. The hollow space was big enough for five people to hide in.

Within that space were three people. A woman in her late forties, a blue eyed boy of barely twenty years old and a little girl of five who was unusually quiet. The girl was in the boy's arms, holding him tightly.

"SD...are they bad people?" the girl asked in a hushed tone. "Will they kwill us?"

The girl's innocent eyes widened in fear and she was very afraid. Her mother had told her scary stories about the men who had killed the good King and his family a few years ago and that scared the little girl.

The boy named SD hugged her and whispered, "You'll be kay, Orea. Don't worry. Big brother SD will protect you. So don't worry and go back to sleep…"

The girl did not seem to be reassured. She could hear the monstrous thuds on the ceiling above them, reminding her of the scary monsters from the fairy tales. Clutching SD more tightly, she closed her eyes and prayed for the monsters to go away.

The woman next to them had her eyes fixated on the ceiling above them. Anytime, the Company's army would find their hidden spot and kill them. She did not care about her own life but San and Orea were her priority. She could not let them die in the hands of those vultures!

"San…" she began. The woman looked at SD with determined eyes.

"Aunt Areum, no…" SD said. He could read what was going on in her mind because he knew her too well. "You can't do what you're thinking-"

"There's no other choice!" she hissed. "Listen!"

But SD shook his head. "If anyone should go up there as a scapegoat, it should be me!" he insisted. "They're after me!"

"They still think I'm single and without a child!" Areum hissed. "If Gwangjoo's rumored will really listed me as the heir, then that means my children are now entitled to the throne! But the Company thinks I'm still single and have no children. If they find out about Orea, they'll kill her and then come after you! Because once my blood line dies, the throne will pass back to you or the other Kim San. The bloodbath will start all over again! You must not let that happen!"

"I won't let you die for that throne!" SD exclaimed but Areum held his hand. "And we still don't know if the rumors are true! The will is still missing-"

"I...I know who has the will," Areum revealed.

"What?" SD exclaimed. "How-"

"I can't tell you everything now!" Areum snapped."We don't have time! There's no other choice. They want me. I have to go up and stop them! You take Orea and go!"

"But aunt-"

Areum hugged her nephew and whispered into his ears. "The nation is in your hands," she reminded him. "Your father gave up his life so that one day, you'll end this bloodbath. Your brother is with them and under their influence. You must defeat him and show him the reality of his actions. Otherwise, your mother will ruin everything we have worked for. And Orea…"

She patted the little girl's head. The girl was confused and scared at her mother's expression.

"Mommy…" she said in her squeaky voice. Areum was trying not to cry upon her daughter's scared state. She kissed Orea's forehead and lovingly stroked her cheek.

"Mommy will join you in a minute," she lied. "Listen to your brother, okay? Don't pester him too much and be a good girl. Remember, only you can stop this war, Orea. Don't let them defeat you!"

Orea was confused. Why did her mom say that?

"I can't…" SD said but Areum held his hand and reminded him of his duty.

"We've come too far," she told him. "And we can't back out now. If they catch all of us today, it'll be the end of everything we've worked for. Remember SD, we are merely the pawns in this game. You and Orea are the ones we are fighting for."

"This isn't fair!" SD retorted.

The footsteps above them stopped and someone shouted, "I think I heard something!"

Areum panicked and turned to SD. "Take the escape route and leave!" she ordered. "This is a command from me, Number 2! And I am designating you in my seat after my death. Now go!"

She pushed him towards a narrow tunnel which would lead them far outside the building. SD was teary eyed but Areum did not listen to his protests. She pushed him into the chute which was a miniature elevator they had built for emergencies. SD fit inside it with Orea but it was not big enough for Areum. She smiled at them and pressed a button.

"Mo-" Orea was about to cry but SD held her mouth shut and silently bid a farewell to his aunt. The elevator door closed and it began to descend deep within the Earth, taking them far from the only mother figure they had ever known. Orea was still struggling to cry but SD held her mouth shut, hiding his own tears.

From far above, he heard thunderous gunshots and had to fight every inch of his willpower to not to go back up and kill those men.

But Areum was right. The key to stopping the war was in his arms and he must protect her until they found the will to put Orea on the throne. That was his destiny and he must fulfill it.

He hugged the sobbing girl who hugged him back.

"Will mommy come back, SD?" she asked in a thick voice.

For the first time in his life, SD had no answers. He was supposed to be good at finding information but he had no answer for this little girl's pleas. The great information seeker, failed to help a little girl.

He held her until they reached a lower ground. Getting off the chute, he took out a long rope from his pockets and tied Orea on his back.

"Hold on," he told her. "I'll protect you from now on. So don't worry about other things and trust me."

"Will you leave like mommy did?" the girl asked in a sad tone.

"I have no intention to leave," he promised her. "Even if I'm out of sight, always remember this. I'll be watching over you and protecting you from afar."

Orea hugged her brother's back and naively put her trust in him. He was her big brother. She knew he would never lie to her.

SD focused on the path ahead and stooped down to crawl out of the narrow tunnel with his cousin on his back. No matter what happened, it was time for him to step up and raise her to become the Empress she was destined to become one day.

This blood war has to end, he swore. I'll end it even if I have to kill my own brother for it!

….

SD was awoken by someone's slight jerking. He groggily gazed around to see an air hostess standing next to him.

"Sir, the plane is about to land in the International Coreen Airport," she informed him. "Please put on your seatbelt as precaution."

"Oh, thank you," SD said with a smile and wore his seatbelt. He was using his private jet to travel and had dozed off only to find himself dreaming of the night twelve years ago when his aunt was killed by the Company's men.

After the coup at the palace, it was this incident which haunted him all throughout his life. His hands were slightly shaking but he put them into his pockets and laid back against his seat, trying to forget the last image of his aunt's face. They could not even bid each other a proper goodbye that night because their priority was to get Orea out of there. Otherwise, everything would have been for naught.

Lee Jonghyun, he thought. How many more people will you kill until you get what you want? Or will you keep killing until no one is left?

He pondered hard but found no answers at all.