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Stars have filled up the sky, the moon has arrived, and this means it's yet another time for Yeonjun to tell a bedtime story to his three wonderful children before tucking them off to sleep. Six-year olds Beomgyu and Taehyun are huddled together comfortably with their five-year old brother Kai beneath the warm and soft bed blankets designed with patterns of rockets and clouds, while their father sits down beside them, narrating the chosen story for the night.
He tells a story about a princess and a dragon.
In a land faraway, there lives a dragon who is a wild, hot-tempered creature terrorizing the land. He is the bane of the kingdom's existence, the one who strikes absolute fear in the hearts of every living people residing in the realm. He fears no one and obeys no one. He wreaks havoc wherever he goes, however he likes it, whenever he so feels like it. Truly, he is one of the most vicious beings to have ever lived.
Until one day, the dragon meets a beautiful and courageous princess. The princess unexpectedly walks up to him on his turf and bravely faces the creature with the purpose of asking him to strike a deal with her: kidnap her. Take her far away from her family who are forcing her to marry the neighboring kingdom's prince whom she does not love at all. She badly wants to run away from the unwanted marriage and also from her suffocating life of royalty in general. She knows it's a drastic thing to do, but she does it anyway, for she so badly desires to know what it's like to experience true freedom for once in her life.
Even though the dragon is confused at first with this peculiar behavior from a human - asking a favor from a fierce and violent beast like himself as if it's the most natural thing in the world - he still agrees out of curiosity in the end. The princess promises to do whatever he so wishes as a part of the deal. He brings her to his secret cave, a rather cozy place near a river inside the forest where he dwells in. Here they spend the rest of their days together away from all the people bothering the princess.
At first the dragon is bewildered by the princess's actions. She's not the least bit intimidated nor scared by him at all, unlike the usual people whose default reaction is to tremble in fear whenever they catch sight of the winged creature.
"You're not that scary," the princess tells him. "In fact, when I look at your face upclose like this, you do actually have beautiful mesmerizing eyes."
With that, he discovers that she possesses a kind heart and a positive disposition in life. She is cheerful and compassionate and also has a very beautiful and soulful voice whenever she sings. All these qualities end up making the dragon feel inexplicably drawn to her.
As days pass by, he feels more and more enchanted by her, by every little thing that she does. She offers to do chores for him while she stays in his home and cooks delicious food for him even (Princess: "Absolutely no humans in the ingredients list!"). The dragon finds himself enjoying watching her do these things with a gleeful smile on her face. Her being happy makes him happy too for some reason, until he realizes that he has become less violent and less hot-headed during the days he has spent with her and that his heart has grown much softer.
The dragon realizes that he's in love with her.
"I knew it!" Kai squeals in glee while cuddling his favorite rabbit plushie in his arms. "I knew he was gonna fall in wub with the pwincess!"
"That's dumb, dad. He's a dragon, not a human," Taehyun pinpoints logically. "Dragons can't fall in love with humans."
"Yeah!" Beomgyu agrees. "And how would he even kiss the princess? If he tries to hug her she'll get crushed like mashed potatoes."
A fond laugh escapes the father of three's lips. "Well, what if I told you that the princess is taller than the dragon? Would that satisfy your question?"
Squinting his eyes suspiciously at Yeonjun, Beomgyu retorts, "You'll have to be more creative than that, dad. Dragons are big biiiiig animals. Like dinosaurs."
"Bah!" Yeonjun waves off a dismissive hand. "Dragons, dinosaurs, bedbugs, chupacabras. Whoever or whatever they are, everyone has the right to fall for someone, no? Now, shall I continue with my story?"
Without any further complaints, the trio nod their heads in unison, letting their dad resume with his narration.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the dragon deep inside is actually a very insecure creature who tends to mask his massive inferiority complex by lashing out violently on others especially towards the humans. He becomes an extremely destructive creature only because it's his desperate way of preventing all his insecurities from gnawing at his whole being. He harms other people just to feel better about himself and for that he is severely and widely misunderstood.
This insecurity starts to emerge strongly again when he discovers his feelings for the princess. How could the princess love him back when he is nothing but a horrendous, vile creature whom everyone in the land is afraid of and hates even? How could he even stand a chance when the two of them are completely different from each other? She is lovely and he is not. She is kind while he is cruel. She shines bright as the sun whereas creatures like him belong to nowhere else but in the darkness of the deepest night. She is well-loved by everyone in the kingdom while everyone thinks of him as a pest meant to be hunted until he meets his ultimate demise. Realizing all this, he knows he has no right to be with the princess he loves.
Thus, he starts avoiding the princess.
The princess notices this odd behavior where the dragon felt like he's started avoiding her. He hardly looks at her in the eyes anymore when they are talking. The words he uses to speak to her now lack their usual warmth and friendliness, replaced by an icy coldness. She'd be lucky if he ever decides to speak to her at all. Everyday he always makes countless blatant excuses just to not be around her. It made her feel lonely. So one day, she decides to confront him about it.
"Why have you been ignoring me?" she asks him directly.
"...I am not," the dragon replies, unable to maintain eye contact with her.
"You definitely are! Do you hate me? Do you want me to not be around anymore?"
"No! ...I don't."
"Then why have you been giving me the cold treatment? I've been feeling lonely all this time because you won't show me your smile anymore."
"...."
"You know I cannot bear for you to ignore me. So please, answer me."
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you." The dragon shakes his head. "If you knew the real reason, then you would be the one hating me instead," he says sadly.
Suddenly, the princess leans in and grabs the dragon's face with her hands, cupping both of his cheeks between her soft, gentle palms. She looks at him with a determination flaring in her eyes and tells him, "I could never hate you, dragon. You are my dear friend. My new family. You have become someone important and special to me. So no. There will never ever be any room for hatred inside my heart, not when it comes to yourself."
The dragon, touched by her words, gathers the courage then and there to confess to her. "Will you think me so important and special still if I told you I'm in love with you?"
For a split second, the princess is taken aback by his words. But in the next instant, a brilliant smile blooms across her lovely face.
"That's the reason you've been avoiding me? Pfft." A giggle tumbles from her lips. "Well why didn't you say so earlier? Geez, we could've avoided all this drama! Because I think... I think I may have grown to love you as well."
Now it's the dragon's turn to be taken aback. "You feel the same as well?"
"Of course." The princess nods happily.
"But why? I'm a hideous monster! Everyone in the land is scared of me and despises me! I am a cruel and violent beast! Why would you love someone like me?"
"Because you are more than that to me," the princess says to him with an adoring softness in her eyes that makes the dragon just feel like weeping.
"People like to harp on what they think are your negative qualities, but what they fail to recognize is your secret kindness. You've provided shelter and food for a runaway like me and treat me nicely without asking for anything in return, no? That's proof of your kindness. And then you always make sure to check up on me if I'm feeling well or not. You always take care of me. You act all cold in public but you do actually have a warm heart. In the end, that's what made me grow to have feelings of love for you."
The dragon could not believe the words that he's hearing, but he is nothing but endlessly grateful for them. Overcome with emotion and admiration, he tells the princess, "You really are something special, sunbeam. No wonder I fell in love with you."
Sweetly, the princess giggles. "I love you too."
"And they kissed and lived happily ever after, blah blah blah." Beomgyu rolls his eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm. "This is so boring, dad!"
"But pwincess wubs dwagon is cute! Cute! Hmph!" Little Kai puffs out his round cheeks and pouts at Beomgyu.
"Who said I was finished with my story? Don't be impatient, child. There's more..."
From that moment on, the two of them have become an official romantic couple. Their house in the forest has become filled with devout affection for the both of them who swear to love each other unconditionally no matter what. Whatever trials the world throws at them, they'll face them head-on with their hands linked, promising to take care of each other's hearts. As long as they love each other, no one can break them apart. Thus, they go on spending their days filled with happiness together in the place they call home.
One spring morning, they find a basket of baby eggs lying on their front door (that is to say, the entrance to the dragon's cave). No one knows where they came from nor who left them there. They just suddenly popped up. Nonetheless, the princess persuades the dragon to take them in anyway. Seeing the look of pity in her eyes for these baby eggs that their monstrous parents just threw away so casually, the dragon could not help but oblige.
There are three of them in total. The first egg hatches into a baby bear. The second into a baby squirrel. The third and last into a baby penguin.
"What?! That's a load of baloney, dad!" Beomgyu huffs out. "Bears don't hatch from eggs!" he argues.
"Squirrels too," Taehyun adds in knowledgeably. "The penguin is fine though."
"Pengween~" Kai singsongs while pinching the tummy of the penguin plush toy that's plopped down near his pillow.
"Uhhh, that's because..." The father grasps for an explanation. "The land where the princess and dragon live is a magical place! Bibbidi bobbidi alakazoom magic! So anyone can hatch from eggs. Yeah, let's go with that."
"Aww, these babies are so cute and adorable!" The princess couldn't resist cuddling all three of them in her arms. The dragon readily acquiesces. Indeed, they are very cute and precious little boys even though they could be a bit mischievous sometimes, especially the loud and sassy baby bear.
"From hereon, we're family," the princess declares, kissing one by one the crown of the babies' tiny heads.
Dragon becomes dad, princess becomes mom, the baby bear, squirrel, and penguin become their children.
The five of them now constitute a complete family, which doubled the blessing of happiness within the four walls of their home.
"I don't think they'd be that happy if they lived inside a cave without internet," Beomgyu opines, being the lead contrarian of the group as ever.
Yeonjun simply raises an eyebrow at him.
"Not me!" Kai shakes his head. "I'm happy with no intanet because I have," the boy taps his fingers together and starts counting with them one by one, "...dad, Beommie, Taehyunnie. Complete! No need intanet!"
Incredible fondness welling inside his chest, the father plants a kiss upon the littlest one's squishy, marshmallow-soft cheek.
Unfortunately, such happiness isn't meant to last long.
One day, as is common in countless fairytale stories, the prince charming arrives to rescue the kidnapped princess. Accompanied by some of his men armed to the teeth with weapons, he enters the dragon's lair and saves the princess from the dragon, wounding the flying creature in the process. The princess cries out for the wounded dragon limping on the ground who was desperately trying to defend her with his life. She doesn't want to be "rescued" by the prince at all, especially when he is the very man her family is forcing her to wed.
But she gets taken away anyway. That may be the last time the dragon will ever see the princess.
Beomgyu and Kai gasp dramatically at the same time, clasping each other's hands, wide-eyed.
"No way," the oldest among the brothers whispers in disbelief.
"Pwince bad!" the youngest cries out, indignant. "Poor dwagon."
On the edge of his corner on the bed, Taehyun leans his small body forward in anticipation. Yeonjun sees him clutching the fabric of the bed blanket tight between his fingers.
"What happens next, dad?"
Even though he fought his hardest to protect the princess and keep her from being taken away, the dragon still lost and failed her. Desperate, he threatens the royal family that he'll do everything in his power to get the princess back from their clutches. He'll raze the kingdom to the ground using his dragon flames, burning it down into ashes if he has to.
But the king confidently threatens him back. They will do the same thing to the forest too where he and his children live. If the dragon persists on fighting back, the royal family assures him that the lives of his children will be put into mortal peril. If he wants his children to be safe, he should stay away from the princess.
Now, because the dragon was originally an anti-social and a scary, unlikable creature, everyone naturally avoided him. And because of that, he finds himself having no friends at present to turn to to seek for their help. Not even the forest animals are willing to aid him, not especially when they know that their lives and homes would be in danger as well. Even though some of them feel compassionate for the kind princess, to them he is simply a monster undeserving of help. He isn't well-connected, whereas the kingdom, against him, stand united.
He was all alone.
Powerless.
He couldn't rescue his princess.
Meanwhile, the princess gets taken back to the palace and gets married off to the prince against her will. Not long after, she succumbs to a severe illness due to all the stress that's been surrounding her. She starts to have regular coughing fits. Her already pale skin has grown paler into a sickly shade. She has lost all her vigor as well as her appetite for food, causing her to grow increasingly thin and frail. She starts to cough out blood.
Days, weeks, months pass by and the worried king and queen still could not find a cure for her illness. They've hired the best doctors and consulted even the most powerful witches, but no type of medical treatment nor magic can help her get well. They've scoured the land for a remedy that will help her regain her good state of health but to no avail. Her vain, worthless husband could not help her as well.
The princess knows it is hopeless for her at this point. Her health has further deteriorated so much to the point where she couldn't get up from her sick bed anymore. Her breaths have become shallower. She knows it's only a matter of time before her body would completely give out.
So before anything happens to her, she dares to do one final thing. She asks one of her trustworthy messengers to secretly deliver a letter to the dragon whom she knows she will never see again.
The anguished dragon, who is aware of the princess's condition, receives the letter in his home and reads it:
How are you, my love? It has been a while, no? I hope you are faring well. You must know how sorely I miss you. We may be miles apart at the moment but that doesn't make me love you nor our children any less. My thoughts are always filled with you even when we're separated.
But please don't blame yourself for our current circumstances. I am well aware of the pressure my family has put into you. I know that they expressly forbid you to see me, to communicate with me. I understand that they must've threatened you with something so that you would distance yourself from me. For that I am sorry. You don't have to feel obliged to "rescue" me at all or anything. As long as you are safe and well, that is all that matters to me.
Sadly, with my body's current state, I don't think I have the strength in me to continue living anymore. My doctors try to comfort me and cheer me up everyday about my sickness, but I know they know that I have little time left. They cannot fool me. I am not long for this world, my love. You may feel hurt and heartbroken with this knowledge, but it is how it is. Even if we desperately want it to, life simply doesn't go our way sometimes.
But please don't feel too sad. After all this is done, I wouldn't want for you to be swallowed by only bitter thoughts and feelings of misery. Even when I'm gone, remember that there are still many other things for you to rejoice over in life. Such as our precious darling children.
Which brings me to my last wish: please take care of them. Cherish them. Do what you can to bring them the happiness that I will no longer be able to provide them. Guide them so that they may grow into brave, wise, and compassionate men bearing noble hearts. Promise me that you will do that for them. For me. Nothing would make me happier and content.
I would've wanted to see you one last time but I guess that is now only a forlorn wish. I do hope however that this letter is enough to convey my fervent love for you. Because I do.
I love you.
I miss you.
The dragon feels devastated beyond belief. It's as though his chest would burst violently at any second from the excruciating sorrow burning fiercely in his lungs. He already grieves for her, the princess that he has lost once...will lose again for the second time soon enough.
Unable to contain his grief, he lets out a piercing scream, pure rage and anger burning within the deepest part of his core. He hates everyone who took his princess. He hates himself. He howls and howls towards the sky, feeling utterly defeated, until his throat has completely dried up and he couldn't find the voice to cry out his grief any longer.
The next day, the news of the princess's passing has spread all over the kingdom. Everyone mourns for her but some feel relieved too. Now she is finally free from her sickness and suffers from pain no longer. With graceful, sprightly steps, she has climbed up towards the sky, joining the angels up there in heaven. To this day, she watches over her beloved dragon and her darling children as she floats freely and contently above the clouds until the end of eternity.
And that is the end of the dragon and the princess's story.
"Dad! You jerk! Why did you have to tell us a sad story!"
Using a clean face towel, Yeonjun wipes Beomgyu's crying face along with the snot dripping from the child's nostrils. "Now, now. Weren't you the one who asked for a sad story, BG? Because you were sick of dad's 'mumbo jumbo unrealistic stories with a happy ending'? Hm? I tried to warn you that it's going to be sad."
In his corner of the bed, Kai hugs his rabbit plushie tight as he sniffles quietly. "Noooo. Pwincess."
"No, baby, I'm so sorry." Smiling gently, Yeonjun pulls his youngest child towards his chest to give him a hug. "There, there. Hush now, Hueningie. It's alright."
Beomgyu launches himself at his father's side and wraps his short arms around Yeonjun's waist, joining in the hug. Yeonjun tightly envelops both Beomgyu and Kai's small frames within his arms as they cry, alternately kissing the top of their heads with great fondness as he consoles them. All the while Taehyun sports his usual straight face again, seemingly unaffected at their side. The father smiles bemusedly at him.
"You seem fine and dandy, Taehyunnie."
"It's just a story, dad." Taehyun shrugs. "It's not real."
"You're right... It's not." The father's smile dims a little.
Meanwhile, with round imploring eyes, Beomgyu peers up at Yeonjun while still hugging his dad's stomach. "I don't want it to be a sad story anymore, dad. Change the ending!"
"Please dad...change..." pleads Kai with watery eyes.
"If my little gremlins wish for it so, then of course we can change the ending. We'll make it into a happy one so that everyone's left satisfied. Let's see..."
The princess does not die at all. She gets up from her bed one day, completely refreshed and revitalized, with the rays of golden sunlight pouring out from her room's windows and spilling over the top of her lovely head. Her coughing fits have completely stopped and she has regained her appetite so that she's able to eat now all the food that would make her healthy once again. "It's truly a miracle of the ages!" her doctor declares. "Long live the princess!" the whole kingdom rejoices.
The king and queen are so grateful for this news of the princess's recovery that they had a full change of heart. They finally accepted the dragon and the princess's love in spite of the differences lying between them. As for the princess's husband, that wretched prince, well...let's say he decides to just file for the divorce papers.
Anyways, at long last, the dragon meets the princess once again. Overwhelmed with joy, they fall into each other's arms instantly, hugging each other like there's no tomorrow after a long period of separation.
"I'm back, my love," the princess greets him with her pretty smile that shows off her dimples.
"I've missed you, my love" the dragon replies, overcome with emotion. "While we were apart there wasn't a moment when I wasn't thinking of you. I am deeply sorry that I wasn't there for you during all those times when illness has taken over your body. Whenever I thought of how much you've been suffering, it felt as though I have died a thousand times over myself. As though my heart kept getting crushed by some heavy weight, shattering painfully into a million broken pieces with every minute --no, every passing second of the day without you at my side."
His lips touch the back of the princess's hand. He couldn't believe he would see her again. Be with her again.
"My sunbeam, my light. In your toughest of times I wanted to be there for you. Yet because I was weak...helpless... I wasn't able to. Aside from praying for your health and safety, there was nothing more in my power that I could accomplish for your sake. People fear me because they think I'm scary and strong, but hell, those are definitely not true. I'm sorry for not being strong enough to be able to protect you."
Tears of sorrow begin to stream down the dragon's face, yet the princess's soft hands are quick to wipe them all away. Accepting his apologies and granting him the forgiveness he asks for but does not truly deserve, she cradles his cheek tenderly, and he finds himself leaning into her warm touch.
"Oh, how I've missed you so much," he breathes out. "Even now, I think I still do. I long for you... Ache for you..."
Yeonjun's voice cracks a little.
"I love you."
Yeonjun falls silent for a while. His kids look up at him with worry, concern swimming in their eyes.
"Dad?" Taehyun asks. "Are you okay?"
Snapping hastily from his quiet thoughts, Yeonjun directs his attention towards his middle son and gives him a reassuring smile. "Anyways, they kissed each other after that and it was truly a joyful reunion. Afterwards, they go back to their old home in the forest and live in peace there with their three adorable babies. She gets to witness them grow into such fine young men, and gets to grow of old age herself together with her beloved winged beast."
Yeonjun turns to Beomgyu and reaches out to ruffle the little boy's fluffy brown hair. "There you go. Your happy ending. We good now?"
Their tears replaced with a sense of relief and a feeling of jubilation over the much more favorable ending, the trio nod their heads with great enthusiasm, satisfied with the story's conclusion.
With the evening's storytime session over, Yeonjun finally tucks his children off into bed and kisses their heads one by one, wishing them nothing but the sweetest of dreams. As he was about to turn off the night lamp by the bedside however, he feels a tiny hand tug at his sweater sleeve from underneath him. Apparently his youngest child has not gone off into dreamland quite yet.
"Daddy," Kai mumbles sleepily as he rubs his eyes with a tiny fist.
"Hm?" Yeonjun leans closer and brushes off the bangs from the little boy's forehead with his fingers. "What is it baby?"
"I'm sure you're gonna meet your pwincess again someday."
Yeonjun inhales sharply, stunned by his son's words, but before he could manage to get a word in, Kai speaks up again.
"The drawing on your back, it's like the dwagon in movies."
Abruptly, Yeonjun's body feels a sort of throbbing pain - small and negligible yet still certainly present - right there at the spot where the dragon tattoo rests on his back. It's the tattoo he got inked into his skin when he was much younger, during the days when he was still a troubled kid who deals with all his pain, anger, and self-hatred by constantly resorting to violence.
An arrogant gangster feared by many and also hated by many.
But those days are over for him now. He could proudly say that he's changed considerably over the years. And now, with the present existence of his lovely and wonderful children, he continues to strive to be the best person he could be mainly for their sake.
Undoubtedly, he has his children to thank for every single thing that's good in his life. And also...
"Please kidnap me! I don't want to be married to that guy! Take me away with you, please!"
"Scared of you? You're not that scary. In fact, when I look at your face closely like this, you do actually have mesmerizing eyes."
"Yeonjun? Can I call you Yeonjun?"
"Why do you keep on calling me sunbeam? Is it because it rhymes with my name? No? Why then?"
"Whaa? That's your reason? Pfft. My, my. What a cheesy guy I've been stuck with."
"Yeonjun? Why are you ignoring me?"
"Please don't ignore me. I hate it, Yeonjun. It's lonely."
"Why would I love someone like you? Do you even have to ask? It's because you are more than that to me..."
"Aww these babies are so adorable! Are we allowed to adopt them? No? Oh come on, you killjoy. Pretty please?"
"From now on, we're family. Isn't that right, Yeonjun?"
"Promise you will do that for them. Promise me..."
"Yeonjun..."
"I miss you."
"I love you."
...He has that person to thank for.
The boy who was Yeonjun's whole world once upon a time.
"Thank you for accepting who I am," Yeonjun whispers quietly towards the heavens, as if someone up there would openly receive and embrace his words. "Thank you for loving me."
"Daddy," Kai mumbles from his side, his drowsy eyes barely able to stay open. Yeonjun couldn't help but smile.
"You're probably right, Hueningie. Perhaps I will see my princess again someday." Soothingly, Yeonjun rubs the child's belly to help him fall faster to sleep. "But that's not before I've fulfilled my promise to him first."
Tenderly, the father presses his lips upon the child's forehead.
"So grow up well, young one. That is what he would wish for you and your brothers as well."
"Mmn."
With that, the child's eyes slowly flutter close, finally drifting off into a peaceful slumber. The father raises up the blanket to cover his sons more securely from the cold, then turns off the lamp, the only source of light to illuminate the room are the stars that twinkle up the sky so shiningly.