It was nighttime and the air was cold, but So found himself outside in the courtyard building prayer towers. Or rather, he was rebuilding them. After his encounter with Hae Soo the other night, something didn’t sit right with him. This was a strange feeling, as So never really cared about what others thought of him, save for a handful of people. Hae Soo was someone he barely knew, but he had encountered her more often than he expected. For some reason, he felt guilty. Not for destroying the prayer towers, but rather disappointing Hae Soo, though he had no idea why he felt this way. This was why he was here building towers out of stones, who would have thought?

As he bent down to pick up another stone, So saw a figure in his peripheral vision and soon enough Hae Soo’s quick steps and rustling of skirts led her to him.

“Are you destroying it again?!”

He had just placed a new stone but straightened up to answer her question, albeit defensively.

“I am not destroying it. I am rebuilding it,” he retorted before walking past her to take a seat on the steps behind them. He heard her follow him and he chose to look away, trying to look disinterested but still curious about what she would say next.

“Oh, what a surprise. What did you wish for?”

He looked at her in amusement. This girl was always asking the strangest things. He knew that mothers made wishes or prayers when placing a stone, but he himself had not thought about anything in particular when rebuilding the towers.

“Do you need to know people’s wishes now?”

She had the decency to look sheepish, realizing now that her question was a bit nosy. She turned around to lean against the steps and it was then that So decided to inform her of the news.

“I am leaving this house now.”
 

He turned to see her surprised expression, and leaned in to tell her the next bit, unexpectedly excited.

“I am going to live in the palace,” he revealed before lifting his hand to gesture towards her. “I will not be running into you so often,” he said half jokingly, half seriously.

Truth be told, he never thought there would be a day that he would actually return to living in the palace. It seemed too good to be true but he was moving in tomorrow morning. Why he felt the need to inform this girl, he didn’t know. Maybe she would be the only one who cared. Perhaps he also felt a bit of disappoint he wouldn’t be running into her anymore.

“Oh..”

Did he hear disappointment in her voice too? 

“Oh, I guess I won’t have to deliver rice to you anymore. That’s great!”

“Huh, you did not do it that often. Stop trying to take credit.”

“Please lead a quiet life in the palace. Don’t threaten to kill or not kill people all the time. Don’t glare at people like you do when they don’t listen to you,” she said in a lecturing tone.

For some reason, he was starting to get irritated. Why was she telling him all these things? Shouldn’t she be excited for him? She turned to look at him again.

“Be especially careful not to draw your sword over nothing. Oh yeah, don’t destroy something that someone worked really hard to make…what else is there?”

She turned away to think of other things to lecture him about.

“That’s enough,” he said between clenched teeth. Why did this girl have the ability to irk him so much without even trying? As he was trying to control his temper, the next thing he heard him say made his anger dissipate immediately.

“Eat your meals properly.”

She was still looking away as she said this, her tone now softer and voice quieter.

“Sleep well, too. Try not to have bad dreams if you can.”

He kept silent, unsure of what to say. No one had cared to say such things to him before. They all seemed so mundane, but it made something prickle inside of him. She turned to look at him curiously when she didn’t hear a response.

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

He too wasn’t sure why he was so surprised to hear her say those things. Then again, she wasn’t scared of him, was she?

“Oh…I just remembered you said you were not afraid of me.”

He dropped his head and chuckled in disbelief.

“How can you not be scared of me?”

He heard her sigh before answering his question.

“I’m most scared of myself, not you, your highness. Even though they’re my feelings, I can’t figure out where they’re headed. No matter how much I try to change direction, it’s not working.”

He wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but he stayed quiet as usual, unable to offer any words of comfort. She looked up at the night sky and let out another sigh.

“They wouldn’t worry about things like this,” before letting out a little laugh. “Now that I’m in Goryeo, there are a lot of stars here,” turning her head here and there to see them all

“What do you mean there are a lot in Goryeo? You don’t think you can only see stars in Goryeo, do you? Ji Mong would pass out if he knew.”

They both stared at the sky some more before they noticed something falling from the sky.

“It’s snowing…how pretty,” she said with a grin on her face. The girl reached out with her hand to catch the falling snowflakes and So couldn’t help but stare until she turned around to meet his gaze. Caught unaware, he cleared his throat and they both looked away. Eventually when it got too cold, they both retreated to their own rooms, but So couldn’t help but think of her smile before he went to sleep that night.

The moment So opened his eyes, he was blinded by light. As his eyes eventually adjusted, he began to slowly see the room around him. Everything looked unfamiliar to him. Where was he? The last time he was awake, he remembered bidding farewell to his children as he lay on his bed within his own quarters.

As he sat up, he pulled a contraption away from his face and felt pain in his arm. He looked down to see some sort of tubing coming out from his inner elbow. He was just about to pull it out before he heard a familiar voice.

"I wouldn't do that, Paeha."

So whipped his head up to see an older man dressed in strange clothing and something around his eyes. However upon looking closer, So realized this man looked like someone he used to know very well, though he was dressed very differently.

"Ji Mong? Is that you?"

"Yes, Paeha. Though I should really call you Joon So and you should call me Ji Hyun. People would look at me strangely if I called you Paeha in this world."

This world? So looked around the room again to see strange contraptions he had never set eyes on before. He followed the tubing that was connected to his arm to what looked like a bag of water, and when he looked out the window, all he could see were buildings floors upon floors high in the distance.

Was this the world that Soo came from? Were the heavens so benevolent to let him meet her another time?

"You must be disoriented, but I can help fill in the gaps as much as I can."

So turned back towards Ji Mong…no Ji Hyun and nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"This is the year 2022, and we are currently at Seoul University hospital. The country has split into two parts, and our old home from Goryeo is no longer accessible to us at this time. You can do more research later to learn more."

"You called me Joon So. Who was this person?"

"Joon So was a 25 year old man who was in charge of his own taekwondo studio. This is the modern form of martial arts that our country, now called Korea, is known for. He was found unconscious one day after one of his classes. It was reported he had gotten a major concussion after one of the students accidentally hit him in the back of the head while training. He was in a coma for over a year, and today…the doctors will soon find out that he has awoken from the dead."

So surmised that something similar had happened to him as it happens to Soo…or rather Ha Jin. And he would have to do his own adjusting to this world as she did in his.

True to Ji Hyun's word, a team of people came in not too long afterwards and were amazed he was awake and speaking. Granted, his speech was a bit strange, resembling that of the olden days and when he tried to speak normally, it was awkward. Still the doctors were astounded at how he had managed to wake up from such a long coma despite being pronounced brain dead just hours before, and simply assumed his atypical speech was from not speaking for a year.

Thankfully, Ji Hyun was able to help translate everything for him and he learned that they would work on helping him walk again before letting him go home from the hospital. Where this home was, So had no idea but Ji Hyun assured him that was not an issue and he should focus on his current body's recovery first. Still, So was amazed to see that people could be treated in such facilities. It seemed so far removed from what he tried to establish during his time, but was glad it was more developed and gave everyone access to healthcare.

The recovery process was long, So learned, if one was in bed for an entire year. He had been injured in the past but he had never actually lost the ability to walk before. Although it was difficult, So endured it until he was deemed well enough to go home and continue his sessions outpatient.

Just as Ji Hyun said, he did have a home to go to. This home was apparently in the higher end of Seoul, according to Ji Hyun. The next several months was spent learning how to walk but also the plethora of things in the new world, including the convenience of hot showers or microwaves. There was also this thing called a cellphone, and So vaguely remembered Soo telling him about it, but it was still difficult to handle. So was ever so thankful Ji Hyun had found him so that he was not alone trying to figure things out.

When So asked him how he did it, Ji Hyun simply said it was by coincidence. He was walking by the Taekwondo studio a year ago when he saw someone lying unconscious and called the ambulance. Thankfully the man had all his cards and keys upon him so Ji Hyun was able to keep track of his apartment and studio while the man was in a coma. Luckily, his Joon So was relatively well off from an inheritance so money was not an issue.

What So found amazing was that he had the same face and body, only this present day vessel was not marred by a scar. He wondered if Soo…Ha Jin would be able to recognize him with this haircut. Well, if he could find her that is. But what if it wasn't Soo? What if it was someone else entirely? Where would he even start to look for her? 

Looking at the cellphone on the table, So decided it was time he started practicing the skills that Ji Hyun taught him. After putting his thumb onto the screen where it indicated, the phone unlocked and he managed to maneuver himself into Naver. He said this was the magic page where you could search for anything right? Well, there was only one way to find out.

When Ji Hyun came by to check in, So was found sprawled on the couch, scrolling through numerous profiles of women on the internet.

“Ji Hyun, how can I possibly find Soo from this? There must be a better way!”

“Paeha, you might want to try Facebook or Instagram instead.”

So shot up from the couch and looked at him in shock.

“Why haven’t you told me about these things before? I have spent so many hours looking on Naver!”

“I didn’t think you would start looking for her this soon given you are still recovering, but that was my mistake. Now, let’s try downloading the apps and we can go from there.”

He took a seat next to So, and the rest of the night was spent searching for their lost empress.