Present day

I glanced around the museum in awe as my class followed the tour guide. My love had always been found wherever history had come into the picture. Many thought it was weird that I had an obsession for the past and this thirst for stories of those who came before us but I didn’t mind. My parents called me an old soul and I always thought it was quite fitting for me.

“Krystal, where have you been?” my boy friend Kai snapped as I looked up from a piece of pottery from the late Joseon era.

“Sorry, I got distracted,” I smiled and took one last glance at the artifact.

“Hwang seongsang-nim nearly broke out in hives when she realized you were missing,” he chuckled and I hooked my arm with his and continued walking around looking for our group.

“An here we have a portrait of china’s Empress Xi,” I froze as a tour guide was explaining the portrait. She was surrounded by a different group of students as she informed them of its history.

“Kai, hold on a minute,” I mumbled and pulled him closer to the group so I could take a look at the portrait.

“This was drawn by the late Emperor Xi of China after he first met his soon to be empress in Korea,” she informed as she pointed at the smudged signature “It was said the couple had some rough early years of their marriage due to a lost first love and some tension between both countries, and now some speculation of Empress Lu to have had a miscarriage during the first few months of their marriage.”

I shimmied in between people to try and take a closer look of the portrait but nearly stopped breathing when I actually caught sight of it.

“Kai?”  I muttered and turned around and to be met with my boyfriend’s face “She looks just like me,”

“That’s freaky,” he mumbled and tried to pull me away.

“It’s me,” I breathed out and a few of the students looked at me then glancing back to the portrait in shock.

“You are the first person I have ever seen to have such a resemblance to Empress Myunghee,” the tour guide looked at me in awe and I quickly pushed through the group of people feeling suffocated.

“Krystal!” Kai called after me but I kept walking faster away from the portrait until I was running. Tears began to unexplainably fall from my eyes as small memories foreign to myself began flipping through my mind.

I quickly cut around a corner knocking right into someone and quickly looked up.

“I’m so sorry,” I apologized wiping my eyes feeling the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

“It’s alright,” the boy smiled his eyes meeting mine and his smile soon faded, his eyes widening in shock “Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so,” I mumbled tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear and felt my heart ache slightly.

“There you are Luhan,” another boy showed up slinging his arm across the male’s shoulders before he glanced up at me “And who is this?”

“Oh, I’m nobody I just accidently ran into him” I rambled and quickly bowed “I’ll excuse myself,”

“Wait?” Luhan reached out and grabbed my arm before I could leave and pulled me back “What is your name?”

“Krystal Jung” I answered and shimmied out of his grip.

“Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?” he said as his cheeks flushed a light pink for a second taking me by surprise.

I opened my mouth to reply but was quickly cut off.

“No my girlfriend wouldn’t,” Kai growled as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to his side.

I looked up at him in shock.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized as Luhan looked to me and smiled slightly.

“It’s alright,” he nodded and Kai quickly began pulling me away making me frustrated.

“You didn’t need to be so territorial,” I mumbled and intertwined our fingers hoping to calm him down.

“You need to stop being so beautiful so guys stop