“Me?” he asked.

I tried not to smile, but it didn’t work and my grin spread across my face. He still looked confused, but my smile must’ve been infectious because he returned the look.

I don’t know how long we were smiling at each other, but it didn’t really matter because you lose track of time when you’re happy.

“Your Majesty?” Eunuch Yeonggi cautiously inched towards us and tilted his head, smiling with us. “I believe it’s time to head back.” He snuck a glance at me and nodded once in a polite greeting.

I smiled and awkwardly lifted my hand in a wave.

King Chanyeol gave me a weird look and I realized I shouldn’t wave.

I leaned towards him and said in a low voice, “The west.”

He nodded in understanding and I smiled, relaxing again. "Okay, but don't do it again. It's about as ugly as your clothes," he said innocently. I let out a loud laugh that made the servants stare at me with shocked expressions, even Eunuch Yeonggi.

I could see the King smiling, trying to suppress his amusement as well. “Let’s head back then, shall we?” The King began walking ahead, expecting me to follow. Ther servants quickly overcame their surprise and continued their duties.

We walked back in silence, but it was peaceful and not unsettling. It was that kind of silence that just feels right. It was the silence I admired and rarely got to experience.

King Chanyeol dropped me off at my own quarters, wishing me a good night and I did the same to him. Even though we were sort of married already (in a sense), I still felt like I was just starting to date a guy I’ve had a crush on for years. I hate to admit it, but I had butterflies—that weird, light sensation floating around in the pit of my stomach.

Lady Choi followed me into my room and I sat down and held in my squeals.

Who would’ve thought that the girl who never got a guy to notice her would be married in a matter of hours? Not me, that’s for sure.

Lady Choi seemed concerned at my giddiness. “Your Highness, are you all right?” She spoke slowly and over-pronounced her words. She seemed somewhat older, but wise and considerate. I could tell she must know the queen well because she acted like she was very familiar with me.

I looked at her and smiled. “Yes, I am. So happy!” My smile spread into a grin and my eyes closed.

I lay back on the floor and put my hands above my head and sighed. “It was a good day. Weird, but good.”

“Your Highness,” Lady Choi said, bringing me back to the present. How weird to think that 450 years into the past was now my present.

I rolled onto my side and rested my head on my hand, my elbow propped up. “Yes?”

“May I ask where you were all this time?” She appeared genuinely worried and puzzled.

However, the question caught me off guard and I tried to think quickly before answering. But the longer time dragged on, the harder it was to search for an answer. What was I supposed to say?

“Your Highness?”

“Yes?”

“Were you with Sir Yu Seongwon?” she whispered, leaning towards me. It felt like she was sharing top secret information with me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Wh-who?”

“I do know about him, Your Highness. You confided in me. I helped you with your secret meetings.” She was definitely worried about me, like she thought I lost my memory.

“Um. . . .” I looked away from her and tried to think quickly, but by then I knew I at quick thinking. Just like running.

Wow. I at a lot of things didn’t I?

“Would you like me to schedule a meeting tomorrow afternoon while the king is on his duties with the officials?”

“Without the king’s knowledge?”

She nodded, slightly hesitant.

“No . . . thank you.”

She was confused but stood and left.

I rolled over to lay on the bed the servants had prepared for me. It was as beautiful as the fabric I was dressed in. It was a cushioned roll up bed that we still had in Korea to date, but it seemed fancier.

Instead of sleeping, I laid there thinking about this ‘Yu Seongwon’ person she was talking about.

“Yu Seongwon,” I whispered to myself in an attempt to find the significance behind the name. “Yu Seongwon. Yu . . . Seong . . . Won.”

Yu Seongwon.

I mulled the name over in my head until my eyes felt heavy and began to drop, telling me I was most definitely tired.

I gave into the urge to fall asleep and entered into a world of possibilities: my mindful dreams.

The next day Lady Choi dressed me in normal clothes rather than the wardrobe belonging to the royal family.

“Lady Choi?”

She looked up at me as she situated the layers of clothing. “Yes?”

“Why are you dressing me like this?” I glanced at myself in the mirror and saw my long black hair knotted at the back of my neck and held there by a metal stick rather than the gold one I wore yesterday.

“We are going out in the public.” She gave me a small smile. “Not as the queen. Like old times.”

I nodded sheepishly and tried to smile back, but it didn’t feel right and I eventually gave up and stopped trying.

She stood back and looked over my outfit before nodding and heading out of my room. I followed her and tried to seem as if I knew what I was doing despite the fact that I was scared I would screw something up.

I was told to get into a box with long poles on each corner. Men were lined up by each pole and looked straight forward, not glancing my way.

I hesitantly got in and tried to get used to the small space. I slid the window back and saw Lady Choi’s feet beside the box.

“How are we supposed to travel in—ah!”

The men lifted the box up and the view out the window went from Lady Choi’s feet to her face in an instant. She peered into the small square that allowed a look into the box and said, “Yes, Your Highness?”

I waited about a minute to get used to the wobbly, unsteady feeling of being carried in a box and then shook my head at her. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

She nodded and I closed the small window.

It felt surprisingly private in the box regardless of being surrounded by tons of people. I got to lean my head back, close my eyes and think about the king.

I wasn’t sure why, but whenever I closed my eyes I saw the king’s smile. Or his eyes. Either one I was fine with.

A gentle knock dragged me out of my thoughts and I opened the window to see Lady Choi’s face. “What is it?” I asked her curiously.

“We’ve arrived.”

I felt the box being set down and Lady Choi helped me get out, holding my hand as I stepped onto the crunchy ground.

We walked down the dirt road and everything seemed oddly familiar. Then I realized this was the road I ended up on when I got transported here in the first place.

Lady Choi tapped me on the elbow gently and I turned to her.

“We will be farther back so that it doesn’t seem odd.”

I looked behind me and saw about five servants following us and I nodded in agreement. “Sounds good.”

She bowed and walked away with the other servants, who stepped back a few more feet.

I turned towards the front again and continued walking, looking around at the familiar straw houses and saw the restaurant that I went to when I first got here. The lady that had told me the current year was still there handing drunk men more alcohol.

The sun was bright and hot, but the constant breeze kept the air flowing, which was a nice addition to the beautiful weather.

“Chunja-yah,” someone whispered on my right.

I spun around and came face to face with a man slightly taller than me. He had his black hair tied in a knot on the top of his head with a black, see-through hat above it. He had beads hanging from the hat, letting everyone know he was a nobleman. His hanbok was pale blue and seemed to make his big, brown eyes shine. [D.O.]

His smile was wide with joy and it fit him so well.

“Chunja-yah,” he said louder, sighing while he said the name. It seemed to roll off his tongue with ease and I immediately wondered how I was supposed to know him.

“May I help you?”

“Help me?” He looked to his left and let out a laugh. “Of course you could help me.” He looked back at me, his eyes dancing with amusement. “But you never were the kind of person to help.”

“Pardon me?”

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.” His smile slowly faded and he looked into my eyes so intimately it made me blush. I had to look away to regain my composure.

“Yeah . . . you. . . .”

“Don’t act like you forgot,” he teased. The amusement was back in his eyes and he held his hands together behind his back. “You couldn’t have forgotten the ultimate Yu Seongwon.”

“Yu Seongwon,” I repeated.

“Aha!” he shouted, pointing at me with his index finger. “I knew you couldn’t have forgotten.”

“O-of course not,” I said, playing along with what he was saying. “I couldn’t forget you, Yu Seongwon.”

He laughed and stared at me with glittering eyes. They literally seemed to shine.

“I missed you,” he eventually told me.

“Eh?”

Oh, man, that caught me off guard. I was so surprised I couldn’t even explain why I was so shocked. I just stared at him.

“I always miss you. Even when you’ve only been gone for a minute.” His voice became soft and vulnerable.

I didn’t reply. I didn’t even know if I should replied because the only thing I could think of saying was ‘Who the hell are you?’

“Don’t leave me for that long again. You don’t know how hard it was to miss you for that long.”

I blinked at him. His eyes were soft at the edges and he seemed so open I didn’t know how to respond to him. His voice was so raw and emotional, he couldn’t have been faking it. He really did seem sad that I was gone for a while.

But that only left me more confused.

Who are you, Yu Seongwon?

Hey hey! New chapter!

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