Vows and Bullets
Chapter 61: A Dream Of A Distant Past

Chapter 61: A Dream Of A Distant Past

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[Agent Helios POV]

"Once upon a time, there lived a handsome little prince in a faraway kingdom."

Hm? That beautiful voice... It sounds familiar.

"Beloved by his parents, the king, and queen, he was showered with everything he could wish for. Not only was he loved by his parents, but everyone in the kingdom adored him! For he was a kind and gentle soul—like an angel sent by heaven."

"Woah," the cute voice of a little boy gasped in awe. "He sounds amazing. I want to be his friend."

Ha-ha. I know this story. I must be dreaming.

"I am sure he would love to be your friend as well."

"Yaaay! Where can I meet him?"

"I’m afraid you cannot meet yet."

"Huh? But why?"

"You see, the little prince has a problem."

"Hm? What happened? I’ll help him!"

"Really? If so, he would be very much delighted."

"He-he-he. How can I help, though? What’s the problem?"

"If you let me continue my story, perhaps you will know the problem."

"Oops! I’m sorry."

The mother chuckled. Her laughter was that of an angel. As the story continued, I opened my eyes and saw the image of the mother and child.

The mother had long, wavy strawberry blonde hair and grayish-blue eyes like the child, but in contrast, his hair was dark. They were sitting on a couch in the library one beautiful afternoon. The mother held a book in her hand while the child laid his tiny head on her lap, eagerly listening to her story.

"Alright. I shall resume," the mother cleared her throat. "Since everyone loved the kind little prince, it didn’t take long for those with an evil heart to grow jealous of him."

"Aww. That’s too bad."

"For everything that shines too bright would be subject to both adoration and envy."

The mother patted the child’s head.

"One day," she continued, "an evil sorcerer came to the castle where the little prince lived. Alarmed by his arrival, the castle guards did their best to fight him and protect the royal family. Unfortunately, they lost the fight. The evil sorcerer was too powerful for them."

"Oh no! Did he kill them? Poor castle guards!"

"No. But he turned them into stones. He did the same for everyone in his way, including the king and queen."

"What? Noooo!" the child began to bawl his sparkly eyes, ready to cry.

"There, there, be strong. You are a man. You must continue on even if it’s hard."

Trying to stop himself from crying, the little boy held his breath and sat up straight.

"Tell me he didn’t turn the little prince into stone, too."

"He intended to, yes. But little did he know that the prince was actually protected by the fairy’s magic. And so, he only fell into a deep sleep. Angered that he couldn’t destroy the prince, he turned the whole kingdom into stone.

"Because of what happened, the nearby kingdoms forbade anyone to go there. Several years passed, and alas, the kingdom and the prince were forgotten by everyone. Even to this day, the prince only grows, but he continues to lie asleep."

"Is that why I can’t be friends with him yet? Because he’s asleep?" the little boy pouted. "How do I wake him up?"

The mother smiled and brushed his hair.

"You have to find the evil sorcerer and defeat him. Once you do, the prince will wake up, and the hidden truths will be revealed. And when he wakes up, I am sure he would be delighted to meet you."

"Alright! I’ll do my best to look for the evil sorcerer and defeat him! Then, he will wake up, and we will be friends."

"Ha-ha-ha! That’s right. Mother will cheer for you."

How happy the two of them looked. So happy and peaceful.

I looked so stupid back then. So innocent about everything. I wonder if my mother was still alive, would I be the same foolish kid like that? Listening to that same story mother loved to tell me over and over? I probably would be. But that’s alright. I would prefer to be stupid and have her with me than to be wise and lose her instead.

"Mom? Eun-Woo? Are you here?"

Another voice echoed from the hallway—from a boy several years older than the little one.

Hearing that voice, my whole being was shaken. I turned around to see the familiar figure of a boy with dark hair like mine and kind brown eyes.

"Brother! You’re here!"

The little boy hurried over to his side and embraced him.

Just like him, I wanted to run over and hold him tight in my arms.

My brother... my poor older brother...

"Eun-Woo’ya!" he grinned from ear to ear and extended his arms, ready to catch the rowdy little child.

But before their hands touched, my whole surrounding turned to black.

[Music Recommendation: "Forever Rain" by BTS - RM - instrumental version by Smyang Piano]

Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat.

Suddenly, the sound of the heavy rain filled the surrounding. Along with it were the cold droplets of water submerging me into despair.

Then, a scene of my mother’s grave showed up before me. Along with it were the murmurs of unconcerned relatives.

"How unfortunate. She died too soon."

"They say it’s poor health."

"They have all the money in the world, but they still can’t find a cure for her."

"How disheartening."

I wanted to shut their mouths—these useless gossip-mongers.

After that was another scene of the police, detectives, and all important personnel coming to our home on another rainy day.

"Mr. Jeon," the chief police officer said to my father. "I’m afraid your eldest son is..."

Their faces were heavy, hesitant to deliver such devastating news.

"N-No... this can’t be," dad’s voice cracked.

Hearing those words, his expression began to darken until it was too horrid to describe.

"He’s dead," they said.

"Mr. Jeon Young-Soo... is no longer alive."

My beloved brother... dead.

Just like that.

We were laughing and playing early that morning, but suddenly, these people came to our home saying he was gone. I couldn’t believe it, and neither did my father. How could we?

It wasn’t enough that the world took my mother from me. They had to take my brother, too. What did we do to deserve this?

And worse, he didn’t die from an accident or any form of natural death...

He was killed—murdered for whatever greedy reason the perpetrator has!

HOW DARE HE KILL MY BROTHER!

Reminded of the bitter truth and the reality of my life, I awoke from my nightmare.

"Haah... Haah... Haah..."

My whole body trembled from my anger. Along with it, my breathing turned heavy, and my eyes glared at the darkness before me. I clenched the sheets tight, almost ripping them apart. My jaws tightened, wanting to unleash my fury but, at the same time, unable to do so.

"Eun-Woo’ya..."

Another voice echoed in my ears. It was a woman’s voice this time. She sounded worried and scared. I wanted to face her, but I couldn’t move my body.

Soon after, a gentle warmth suddenly covered my body in an embrace.

"There, there...," she patted my head gently. "Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay soon. And I’m here with you."

Over and over, she repeated those words. Not long after, my trembling body started to calm down, and my breathing normalized. I wasn’t sure if it was the warmth of her embrace or her soothing voice, but like magic, it helped calm me down.

Finally back to my senses, I turned around to check who it was. As I guessed, it was Kim Ye-Ji, also known as Agent Selene, my partner, and my wife.

How funny. I could still remember the time when it was her having a nightmare, and I comforted her. Now, it was my time to have a nightmare and be comforted.

_____________

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