CHAPTER 3

 

Rain continued pouring and it didn’t tone down even for a bit. Their heavy breathing weren’t heard due to the heavy dropping of rain on the grasses and on the cement.

 

The atmosphere between the two strangers was peaceful…

 

…until the woman sneezed.

 

He almost laughed at the sight of the flustered red-nosed woman in front of him. He curiously observed her features, taking in her pink chubby cheeks, perfect M-shaped lips and her nose looked perfectly chiseled at side view. But what caught his attention was her outfit.

 

It was strange that he had never seen something like that before. The cloth embraced the woman’s figure tightly that he could see her shape and curves, giving more to the imagination of men. In Joseon, it was not allowed, because a woman’s body is sacred.

 

He probably was in another country. But how did he get to this place?

 

His thoughts were disturbed when the woman sneezed again.

 

Since he’s the man and it’s technically his obligation to keep the female in a safer place, he carefully took the smaller’s wrist – as he’s not accustomed to touching someone from the opposite – and led her to the place where he found himself at. It was not as good as a hall, but it’s sufficient at the moment.

 

He felt the woman’s stares at him.

 

 

She didn’t complain when the stranger pulled her under the slide. His hold was gentle and it was thoughtful of him to at least bring her to a shed where they could stay until the rain will stop.

 

She sniffed and wiped her nose, turning to the man and that was the only time his appearance sunk in. Why was the man wearing ancient clothes?

 

“E-Excuse me,” she started, her voice trembling due to the coldness. “Were you from a shooting?” She didn’t know there was another historical drama being filmed.

 

“Pardon?” the man asked, frowning.

 

“Is it a drama? What’s the title? What network? Who’s directing it? Are you a new actor?”

 

 

 

He blinked his eyes for several times as he was bombarded by tons of questions by the strange woman. Worse, he could not understand a single thing the woman was saying because she talked too fast. But one thing’s for sure; they’re in the same country. They spoke the same language, though the woman was informal. She should be punished for talking this way to the Crowned Prince.

 

“Listen, woman,” he said in a loud and firm voice, earning him a wide-eyed stare from the other. “Decrease your speed in speaking. I cannot comprehend to your words.”

 

 

 

She had her jaw dropped; not because the man was painfully gorgeous (he really was), but because of the way he spoke. Wow, he must have studied his role a lot and was still in character even though the filming was over. Judging from the four-foot dragon on the emblems of his robe, his character was the Crowned Prince.

 

Maybe that’s why he hadn’t removed the clothes yet. He must have been a new actor to be this proud and dedicated. Plus, she doesn’t know him.

 

“Wow, even your speaking is similar to the Joseon people! How long did you practice that?”

 

“I am from Joseon, woman,” the guy in a blue robe placed his hands on his hips, his facial expression and actions turning arrogant. “I do not have any knowledge pertaining to what you were talking about. And can you tell me our location? I believe this is not a part of my territory for I have not been in such place.”

 

If she was an anime, her nose must have been turned to a faucet of blood by now. This man perfected Joseon’s way of speaking; not even the elders sound so… sophisticated… like that. Who was this man?

 

“Why are you not giving me a response?!” She yelped a bit. He spoke way too loud.

 

“We’re at the… playground…?” And they’re under a slide.

 

“Play… ground?” the self-proclaimed ancient man said slowly, as if testing the word. This kid’s really funny.

 

An idea crossing her mind, she looked around the place to search for hidden cameras. This might be a prank show and the host will come out soon. Should she play dumb so they’ll feature her?

 

“Yes, playground. You know, where cute little angels play?” the tall man was a good actor. She was convinced that the other looked dumbfounded. He’ll surely succeed in the industry and maybe one time, she’ll get him as her lead.

 

 

 

Angels? He glanced around in search for those winged creatures. Was he in heaven? Did he really die in the attack? How come heaven was so dark? And this woman with him had no wings.

 

“Your wings are not in sight.” He told the woman, whose cheeks immediately turned red. Incidents like those happen when women are shy. Did he say something embarrassing for her to be this shy?

 

 

 

Did he just say a pick-up line?

 

Okay, she’s more convinced that this was a prank. No matter how handsome this man was, she would not let herself look like a fool, especially on national TV. Though, she felt her cheeks heat up at what the male said.

 

“Yah, where are the cameras? What show is this? Yah, tell the host to come out now because the joke was busted!” Why was she panicking? How come no one came out?

 

“How dare you speak that way to the Crowned Prince?!’ the male yelled angrily.

 

Instead of getting scared, she just stood there, shocked.

 

“Crowned Prince?” she laughed. “Then I’m Queen Elizabeth! Yah, stop this Joseon acting now! You’re in South Korea and I’ve already busted your prank!”

 

“I will definitely command my guards to cut your tongue when they find me, you wretched woman!”

 

At that she laughed sarcastically. “Oh yeah? Try it! Cut it!” She leaned closer to the Crowned Prince and stuck her tongue out, her eyes challenging him.

 

 

 

Oh, how dare this servant challenge the Prince? He’s a royalty, for Christ’s sake! He’s the future ruler of the country and she acted that way towards him? Such blasphemy! No one dared shout at the Crowned Prince! He will not let this go away.

 

But for now, he needed to shut this woman’s mouth up.

 

He stepped closer to her, smirking as the brunette slowly withdrew her tongue back in and took a step back. He could see the surprise on her doe eyes.

 

“Y-Yah… w-what are you d-doing?!” the other tried pulling off a strong face, but he was taught on how to read a person through facial expressions so he knew she was faking it.

 

He did not say anything and continued inching towards her, fixing his gaze on the woman’s eyes as intense as he could. He knew this action could intimidate women.

 

The female’s head slightly hitting the tube above them, he stopped moving, just when their faces are inches away from each other. He had to bend over a little for the woman was smaller. This was the first time he had tried this so he was having so much fun.

 

But that was until the woman snapped her gaze to the side and looked at the pink thing lying on the wet ground. He found himself pushed away that his back hit the ladder.

 

“My bag!” the woman shrieked before moving to get it. Unfortunately for her, her head hit the tube hard, causing for her to whine in pain and sit on the ground, clutching on her forehead. Judging from the sound of the hit, her forehead must have been bleeding.

 

He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

 

 

 

Her vision was spinning, her forehead was aching.

 

She was too shocked that the weird was so near her face and her bag was soaked under the rain that she didn’t think before acting so she hadn’t realized that her head’s in level as the slide. Now Joseon man will surely laugh at her.

 

Apparently, no laughter came and felt no presence next to her. Peeking through her fingers, she saw Joseon man running to her bag and picked it up then headed back to their temporary shed.

 

Her hands slowly fell from her face as the man knelt beside her and gave her the wet bag. He was looking at her intensely as if he’s reaching through her soul. It gave her chills.

 

She broke their eye contact after getting her bag back, a weird feeling spreading throughout her chest.

 

Why was her heart beating fast? Why was she feeling warm when it was supposed to be cold due to the rain? Why did she shiver when their fingertips brushed? Why was she magnetized by those eyes? Why was she feeling that way?

 

“Is it hurting?” There came that hypnotizing voice again. She considered herself weird at the realization of finding this ancient-spoken man y. His baritone voice and old way of speaking were turn-ons.

 

Subconsciously, she snapped her head to the man of her current fantasies, her eyes widening as she felt warm hand pressing on her forehead. It was supposed to hurt her, but she felt nothing of the sort. Did this man really come from the past?

 

Not giving a response, her gaze fell on the gold chain wrapped around the robed man’s neck. Her hand moved on its own and reached for the golden phoenix image and continued staring at it. She didn’t know why she was so interested on the necklace; it was as if it was… calling her.

 

“What are you?” she whispered, earning a shocked and confused look from the other.

 

As if someone snapped their fingers in front of her, she went back to her senses, realizing that the rain had finally stopped.

 

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at what she just did, she pushed the man away and got out of the slide, walking briskly while pretending to remove dirt from her bag.

 

She just walked and walked. She knew the man was still following her, in a less creepy way. What did really happen? Why did it feel like she saw that necklace from before? Why did it feel like it was a part of her? What was that?

 

Soon enough, she already found the place familiar. It was not that far from her apartment. Beaming, she walked faster, thoughts of a nice warm bath brought back her energy. This day was so stressful and she needed a refreshing bath. And coffee. And noodles. And a movie.

 

Her apartment’s a five-storey building, consisting of several studio-type rooms. There was a narrow staircase outside, and it was the only way to go up. Her room was located on the third floor at the other end.

 

Remembering something – rather, someone – she halted her steps to the stairs and glanced back at the man downstairs.

 

He was looking around, probably familiarizing himself with one place while rubbing his arms. He was just as cold and soaked as her and it would bother her forever if she would let him stay on the cold streets. She shivered when cold wind touched her skin, as well as Joseon man.

 

She had let out a groan before running down the staircase to the male who was embracing himself because of the coldness.

 

She stopped in front of him, panting, though she was not really tired. “Are you… Are you really from Joseon?” She just had to ask. She had to see the genuineness so she would believe him and let him in. She had to make sure that he’s not a scammer and . She had to know that the weird magical feeling earlier at the playground was really something and their meeting was destined.

 

There was that intense gaze of the man again. It sent shivers down her spine and she was like drawn to those eyes from the first time they met.

 

“Yes.” The man said confidently, truth reflected on his eyes.

 

It was enough to convince her.

 

 

 

She’s going crazy.

 

She had to let the man in her small house and the man stayed outside for a while because his socks were wet.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll wash it tomorrow.” She tried convincing the stubborn man to step in.

 

But he still didn’t budge. He was observing her place with wide curious eyes. The kitchen was the first thing to be seen. There was a coffee table in between the bed and the TV. She preferred eating there because she had the habit of watching TV while eating. Also, there’s a door leading to the bathroom slash laundry room and on the other half of the room was a large bed, a television was in front of it, a large cabinet was next to the bed, and a large shelf beside the closet was allocated for her collection of movies and pocket books. It’s small and simple, but this was the place where she survived and it held lots of memories with her.

 

“This place… is where you live?” Joseon man asked, finally agreeing to remove his wet socks and step in the abode.

 

“Yes, why?” Sungmin asked with a glare as she picked the wet socks. “Problem?”

 

“My chamber alone is larger in size…” he said, yet there was no hint of malice on his tone. He was simply… curious and amazed. His eyes were wide and sparkling while exploring that it made her giggle at the adorable sight.

 

“Well, you’re a prince and I’m not.” She walked to the bathroom where the washing machine was also located, only to shriek when she saw Joseon man staring at her recently washed underwear on the hangers. She panicked more when the man lifted a finger to poke it.

 

“D-Don’t touch it!” she yelled as she snatched the hanger away and hanged it in the bathroom instead. She blushed when she saw the innocent look on the man’s face. Maybe it was his first time seeing those. There were no bras and in joseon? “T-They’re a… woman’s… private, err, clothing. You wouldn’t want to touch it and disrespect the owner, would you?”

 

Joseon man’s eyes widened a fraction and nodded, retracting his hand.

 

Feeling cold, she rubbed her arms as she grabbed clothes from her closet, including two towels and gave Joseon man one. The male just stared at it, probably not knowing what to do. She’s sure that towels were already invented during the Joseon era, so why was the man looking at it as if it’s a UFO?

 

Then again, he’s a prince. Perhaps, he was used to wearing elegant robes and he had his servants do the drying of his hair. She sighed; she should not spoil this man here since they’re not in Joseon anymore. She should let him work hard for the things he would want to have.

 

“In case you don’t know, you’re supposed to wrap that on your back so it will warm you up a bit. I’ll be fast in taking a shower so you won’t suffer from colds.” She explained as she walked to the bathroom, not really minding if the other listened to her. She already did her part; it’s up to the man to follow it or not.

 

 

 

She talks a lot. Like a lot.

 

He had never met a woman like that in his entire life, and this incident caused culture shock on him. While he was following the woman, questions filled his mind. Where was he? Did Scholar Tan and Guard Kim end up in the same place? Were they together? Why was he in an unknown place? How come they speak the same language, yet the place was totally different from the place he was accustomed to? And what’s with the clothes? He had seen women wearing revealing clothes on the way.

 

How did he get there?

 

He clutched on his necklace, remembering how the woman looked like while she was gazing at it. There was something different in her eyes. He was at a loss of words to explain it.

 

Figuring that he’ll find out soon, he shrugged it off and began his keen observation on the house. Putting the thick cloth on his back, just like what the talkative woman said, he walked to the tall rectangular thing in silver, eyeing everything on it. What does this do?

 

He unconsciously held the handle and pulled it, causing for the door to open. He yelped and jumped back, his arms crossing in front of him in a defensive stunt as white smoke emerged from inside. Slowly, he approached the big box and opened it more, shocked at the feeling of really cold air touching his body, so he immediately closed it.

 

But then, he noticed something. He opened the door, and there was bright light in it. He pushed the door close again, stopping when the door was about to touch the frame. His eyes glistened in amusement as the light went off. To confirm his theory, he reopened the door then almost closed it. Just like what happened moments ago, the light went on and off, respectively.

 

Totally proud of the discovery, he did that for several times, his grin gradually getting wider.

 

“How is this object called, I wonder?” Why wasn’t there a thing such as that in their place? He shall tell the woman to get him one so he could bring it with him to the palace and maybe introduce it to the people.

 

He soon got tired of it. He moved on to the next destination, which was where another big pink floral box lying on the floor and a table in front of it were. He tentatively sat on the pink box, only to stand up at the realization of it being too soft.

 

Since there were no mattresses in sight, he concluded that this was where the woman sleeps on. He poked the soft thing, grinning when he confirmed that it was safe to use. And so he carefully sat on it and he immediately got comfortable with it. There was no such thing in the palace. Even the King doesn’t sleep on this.

 

He lightly bounced on it, feeling like he was jumping while sitting.

 

As he happily bounced, his hand unknowingly pressed a red button on a long and slightly thin rectangular black thing with lots of buttons on it. The big black box in front of him suddenly showed a moving image of a man and a woman with no clothes, ing on a bed.

 

His face turned completely red. He soon screamed and covered his face with his hands for it was rude to witness such an intimate act of a couple. The woman should shoo them away or he will do it.

 

He did it, anyways.

 

 

 

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! GET OUT OF THIS PLACE THIS INSTANT!”

 

She halted scrubbing her body with soap when she heard a scream from Joseon man.

 

Thinking that there was an intruder, she quickly washed herself and wrapped the towel on her body, then went out holding a vase, ready to attack the burglar or someone. However, the scene that welcomed her was not what she expected.

 

Joseon man was lying on the bed with his hands covering his face, and the TV was on… showing… a love scene from a movie.

 

Scandalized, she ran towards the TV and pulled the plug, turning it off. She sighed heavily; she really thought that someone came in causing for Joseon man to panic that way. It turned out that he was just being conservative.

 

But weren’t royalties during that time erted? The Kings have lots of concubines, as far as she knew.

 

Joseon man then peeked through his fingers, only to scream, yet again. “What is the reason for you to wear such little clothes?!”

 

That was the only time she realized that she was wearing nothing but a towel.

 

“Sungmin, why are you shou…ting…”

 

She turned her head to the owner of the third voice, whose owner was equally shocked as her.

 

Sunny looked at her and Joseon man with wide eyes, her cheeks colored in pink.

 

Oh no, she got the wrong idea!

 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

 

“No, no, no, Sunny, it’s not what you think…”

 

The evil grin on her neighbor’s face made Sungmin groan.

 

“I didn’t know you were into roleplaying!” Sunny chirped.

 

“W-What?”

 

“I’m sorry, I’ll leave you two!” Sunny seemed to take it better than expected for she thought there would be screaming and hitting. Still, she got it wrong. And what roleplaying?

 

She glanced at Joseon man who had his hands down already and was looking at her, confused.

 

Oh. Oh.

 

She ran back to the bathroom to change.

 

 

 

Kyuhyun’s eyes hurt after seeing two bodies together. No matter how loud he had yelled at them, they didn’t stop, nor even recognize his presence. He shall have them searched and punished for not listening to the Crowned Prince’s orders. But how did the woman chase them away without saying anything? Was the woman their leader or something?

 

Maybe the leader for she was almost in the same state as the couple. Strangely, though, his eyes didn’t hurt when he saw the woman’s milky white skin. He felt… warm… all over… suddenly. What was that feeling called? He shall ask Scholar Tan once they meet.

 

It took the woman minutes to go out from the small room. He was about to shout at her but all words died down when he saw her looking beautiful in a light pink long-sleeved shirt and gray sweatpants. Now that he had seen her face clearer, he noted that she looked angelic, her face flawless. No woman in Joseon will match her beauty, even his mother doesn’t.

 

“What are you looking at?” the woman asked her with a raised eyebrow.

 

Rude.

 

“How are you called?”

 

She stopped ruffling her brown hair using the towel and stared at him. “You mean my name?” He nodded. “Ah, it’s Sungmin. Lee Sungmin.”

 

She proceeded to the thing which light turns on and off when you open and close it, and brought out something from it and drank on it.

 

“How about you, what’s your name?” She asked before drinking again.

 

He initially didn’t want to reveal his name for his true identity should be kept, but he technically needed to get along with this Sungmin girl to survive in the place.

 

“Kyuhyun… Cho Kyuhyun.”

 

Sungmin choked on her drink at his answer.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED