When Fates Collide | ATEEZ

𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞 𝕿𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊

His voice. That deep, raspy voice.

The sound of his voice echoed in her head like a drum beating over and over again. The feeling of his hands running down her body made her quiver at the memory as the sharp pain in her back amplified, making her eyes fly open as she fell to the floor, coughing violently as cold sweat ran down her forehead.

"Arae!" A voice called out to her as he stumbled down to face her.

She looked up at him, her breathing rough and staggered as she took in the face of her twin.

"J-Jongho..." She mumbled as she felt her head spin. Her brother wrapped an arm around her waist and slowly helped her up to the couch, his brow furrowed with concern as he noticed how pale she looked.

Footsteps approached the two and Arae looked up to see Yunho and Mingi in front of her. They walked slowly up to her, the Lieutenant looking down at her with worry as Yunho had his fists clenched by his side.

"What happened to you Arae?" Mingi asked, the silence being broken as all of their eyes trailed to Arae.

She let the question settle in her mind as the images replayed one after the other, Ravn's house, Advisor Kang. Advisor Kang. Her eyes widened as the memory of the man burned itself into her thoughts, the way he smiled crookedly as he pulled her close to him, the grip he held on her body as he whispered into her ear and...the feeling of his lips against hers as she couldn't do anything but let her tears fall down her cheeks while he held complete control over her.

She put a hand up to her lips and began trembling as her skin started burning, the pain making her let out a wretched cry as the three men crowded around her, helplessness flooded in their eyes as they watched Arae in silence.

"S-Seonghwa. Is he okay?" She choked out, straining her eyes to look at the men before her.

They all looked at each other, something heavy present in their eyes as Arae continued to take in deep breaths.

"Prince Seonghwa...He," Mingi began, biting down on his lip as his brows furrowed, "He made an announcement just now."

She listened to him with a hand on her chest, keeping herself from coughing again as her eyes were blurry from fatigue and tears threatening to spill.

"He's cancelled his Birthday Ball." The Lieutenant made out, "And he's going to marry Princess Eunbyul."

She felt her heart drop as the words registered in her brain, her mind clearing up as she felt tears falling involuntarily. The drops leaving ugly stains trailing after them on her cheeks.

"What..?" She asked softly as her eyes darted to each of their faces for some sort of explanation.

But Mingi stayed silent. All three of them did.

"What are you talking about Mingi?" She articulated, her tone surprising them as she sounded like she normally did, "Why is—"
She shook her head as she wiped her tears from her eyes, "What happened while I was unconscious?"

"We don't really know either Arae." Jongho commented, making her turn to face him, "We all split up. Lieutenant Song, Yunho and I went to look for you while San-hyung and General Kim looked for the Prince. Once we got you back here, the Imperial Media was on and Prince Seonghwa was making the announcement." He explained, a lingering expression on his face.

Arae nodded slowly as she took in the information, "Who else was with him when he made the announcement?" She asked, looking down at the ground as she could feel her body return to its normal temperature and the colour return to her cheeks.