CHAPTER 4: SURPRISE ENCOUNTER

Waking up had always been fairly challenging to me. It was probably because it always meant saying goodbye to Wonwoo. Letting him go was always hard, because I was aware of the reality – he wasn’t really part of my everyday life. But this night was different. I didn’t see Wonwoo. After this night, I was just relieved to wake up. I had been rolling around the queen size bed that was a lot softer than the bed I was used to. I had properly slept for roughly 4 hours, and I was exhausted from not being able to sleep properly. Whereas, when I finally let my eyelids part and the sunlight blind me for a second, I could feel myself relaxing a little bit. For a while.

Then I flew up, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the spacious, unfamiliar room that opened in front of my eyes. For a while I was very spaced out, my thoughts tangling up into a big mess. I didn’t recognize my surroundings. My heart was beating like it was going to jump out of my chest, and I felt myself panicking a little bit. Then I remembered.

So it hadn’t been a dream.

Still shaking from the shock that had completely shaken off the drowsiness off me, I got on my feet and took a couple of careful steps towards the big window that had no curtains covering the bright sunlight that invaded the room. I looked out, like I was expecting to see something familiar. All I could see was a couple of blocks of the traditional 21^st century buildings, and then beyond them, a modern jungle of glass, metals and shiny surfaces. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

I had really hoped I’d wake up in my own bed. But you don’t always get what you want. This time I felt very unlucky. I didn’t know anything about this decade, not even about this century! I was surrounded by completely strange people and nobody actually knew me – neither did I know anyone. I was as alone as I could be. And I was really scared of what could happen.

But Seungcheol and his father had promised to take care of me. Dr Choi was a drifter himself, he could probably help me learn to control my ability. And even if he couldn’t, he knew what I was going through. I tried to calm my mind and heart by having these kind of thoughts, and finally opened my eyes again.

I took a hesitant glance at the room’s door before heading out. It took me a couple of eternity-like minutes to find the kitchen and the dining room of the house, but as I finally proceeded, I was to find Seungcheol and his father enjoying their breakfast together. I looked over them from the doorway for a while before I stepped into the room.

“Good morning”, I greeted as I approached them, and ended my greeting with a small bow.

“Did you sleep well, Dami?” Dr Choi asked, flashing me the smile that already felt so familiar. Seungcheol, replied to me with a quiet mumble while he was stuffing his face.

“Yes”, I answered right away, not wanting to reveal that I actually hadn’t. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I can do some house work in return, if it’s alright.”

I felt like my words came out a little bit rushed and looked down at the floor, embarrassed. I just couldn’t receive any help without feeling like a burden. It just wasn’t my style. I glanced up at the doctor carefully, and noticed him resting his chin against his hands, seemingly thinking hard. He let out a long, optimistic sigh while nodding and raised his glance to me.

“How fast do you think you’ll learn to use this era’s technology?” the man asked.

I blinked. “Fast. I’ll do my best.”

“Sounds excellent”, the man said, nodding again. “Then, would you like to work as our housekeeper?”

My eyes spread wide. “A housekeeper? Isn’t that the highest rank for servants?”

Dr Choi nodded once again, smiling at me widely. “You’d be in charge of leading the maids of this house, but you’d still get to stay with us. It might be easier for you to adjust that way – you’d get to live and work, but still live with us and get used to things.”

As worried as I was about the suggestion, the words the man said to me were very true. If I just stayed in the house, locked up in my room, I would never adjust – and I had no idea of how long I’d stay in this world. Getting to know people and the world around me would be the best option. As scary as it sounded. I noticed myself biting my lower lip in my nervousness and shook my head a little bit.

“Alright”, I said. “I will work as your housekeeper.”

Dr Choi nodded at me as a sign of agreement. I glanced at Seungcheol who was still busy eating his breakfast, but still managed to point up his thumb for me and flashing me a bright, encouraging smile. These two men seemed to really believe in me and my abilities – but it wasn’t actually making me feel better. I just felt even more insecure and unsure.

Supervision of the maids. Helping Dr Choi and his son in their daily chores. Preparing snacks and tea. Cooking, if necessary. I was repeating the list of the tasks I had received from the doctor. According to him, my position was still very good. I was basically part of the servants of the house, but I had a bunch of people to order around and I wouldn’t be a part of the “dirty” chores like cleaning and laundry. The idea must’ve been a kind gesture towards me, but it was the opposite of my nature. I had never ordered anyone around, just the idea of being in a higher position than someone made me feel weird. But I didn’t tend to complain about such things, so I just bit my lip and tried my best to adjust.

“Preparing tea…” I whispered. I could do that. “… and cooking? I’ll have to study the technology quickly.”

As I was very preoccupied with my thoughts, I didn’t notice Seungcheol creeping behind me and then placing his hand on my shoulder. Just when the touch made me jump into the air, I noticed the boy and with a loud, slightly frustrated sigh, turned around to glare him. I quickly restrained myself from saying anything snarky, as I reminded myself I was now his servant.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” he asked, letting out a quiet chuckle.

I shook my head. “No. I was just immersed in my thoughts.”

The boy nodded slowly and scratching his neck, opened his mouth a bit hesitantly. “So, I thought it would be good if I showed you around the city.”

“Shouldn’t I be working?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“The housekeeper is where the lord wants her to be”, the boy said smugly and chuckled at me.

“The lord?” I let the word flow out of my mouth in a slightly mocking tone. I didn’t know Seungcheol well yet, but the way he was speaking right now implied he was thinking rather highly of himself – referring to himself as a lord and everything.

The boy let out an awkward laugh. “I guess I expressed my thoughts badly. I mean, as your employer, I’d like to show you around so you’d feel more comfortable.”

I managed to flash the boy a tiny smile. “That sounds better.”

“Let’s go, then”, he said and glanced at the 21^st century outfit I had worn to school yesterday. “I think it would be good to get you proper clothes, too.”

About half an hour later I found myself in the modern Apgujeong. The streets and buildings had changed so much in just 150 years I couldn’t really recognize my surroundings. Only thing I was sure of was that this area was still the place for high end shopping and rich people. Maybe just because of that, Seungcheol seemed to fit in this area. I could get a hint of what was fashionable nowadays, even though the clothes people were wearing looked a bit too simple for me. As a person who loved colourful clothes, the lifeless, clean cut clothes seemed like prison clothes for me. We did manage to buy me a couple of outfits I could wear in my free time, and according to Seungcheol, the housekeeper’s outfit was waiting for me in my room’s cabinet and it could be made smaller or bigger if necessary.

Although our conversation seemed very awkward and tacky at first, we eventually got to know each other a little bit better and we could talk without long, embarrassing silences. It turned out he was studying in university for the 3^rd year. When he was younger, he had wanted to become a lawyer or a judge but since his father would need an heir to inherit the hospital in the future, he decided to study medicine instead. His main interest was in ophthalmology – in people’s eyes. Also, he didn’t seem as smug as I had thought earlier. He was clearly from a rich family, but he wasn’t a bad person.

“What about you?” he asked at one point, as we were making our way to a more secluded part of the neighbourhood. “What did you study?”

I let a small smile rise on my lips. “I wanted to become a teacher. I really like children.”

“Hmm”, Seungcheol hummed as he nodded at my words. “I could imagine you teaching little kids. You seem pretty kind.”

I let out an awkward, embarrassed chuckle. “Ah, thank you.”

Just then, impending yells and running steps interfered my thoughts and I turned around to look behind me, just to see something very quick and flying, rocketing past me, and scaring me enough to almost lose my balance. The flying object turned out to be something very similar to a scooter, only faster, and it flew past us very quickly. Just as I was recovering the sudden scare, I heard Seungcheol call my name and he had to pull me aside from the street as a bunch of running young men rushed past us, hurrying after the scooter. One of them seemed to have miscalculated the distance he had from me, and accidentally bumped into me, making me actually lose the balance I had barely managed to keep earlier. I fell to the concrete ground, but the sudden fall wasn’t the thing that surprised me the most.

As Seungcheol reached down to me to help me up, I unintentionally ignored him as I stared at the young man that had bumped into me. The raven black hair, the fox-like facial features, the sharp eyes. The face I could recognize anywhere, anytime. My mouth opened and closed once, twice, yet I couldn’t say anything.

“Are you alright?” Seungcheol asked and grabbed my wrists, helping me up.

“You”, I breathed out and took a step towards the boy who had already taken a few steps to follow the others. He stopped moving as he heard my voice, and turned around to look at me. I couldn’t help but to let out a gasp as I stared at the face of my boyfriend.

“Is it you?” I asked.

“I think you have the wrong person”, he replied simply and shortly. He seemed very sure about the fact he didn’t know me, but the low toned voice that came out of his mouth just made my knees shake even more. I was 100% sure it was him, yet he eyed at me like I was a stranger.

“Wonwoo”, I whispered, eyes wide, staring at the boy.

He squinted his eyes a little bit. “I don’t know you.”

Then he took his leave, running after the other young men chasing the flying scooter. The incident was over and Wonwoo disappeared from my sight. It was him. I knew it was. His expression was blank and his eyes cold, but I knew it was him. There couldn’t be another person who looked and sounded so identical. I had finally found him.

“Dami”, Seungcheol called my name, gently patting my shoulder.

I turned to him. “Sorry. I just… I know that person.”

“Have you, perhaps, seen him in your dreams?” he asked.

“Yes… But he seemed like a completely different person”, I sighed.

He nodded. “Maybe it was just a lookalike. I think we should return home.”

“Alright”, I mumbled, still staring after the boy that had long ago disappeared into the distance. Jeon Wonwoo. It was him.

We returned back home and for my surprise, the neighbourhood had already started to feel more familiar. I knew which turns we would take and I recognized the buildings around the house we lived in. Little did I know of what was to come as we stepped into the house, and walked into the other servants in the first floor. They were all young women, probably around my age, and dressed in simple but still neat grey skirts and shirts. All of the maids bowed politely at Seungcheol as we made our way upstairs, but as the boy had walked past them, their bows and slight smiles changed into glares and judging expressions. I tried my best to ignore them as I followed Seungcheol upstairs.

After changing into the housekeeper’s outfit – a simple grey dress that was very similar to the maids’ outfits, only a little bit more stylized and detailed – I made my way to the kitchen and with Seungcheol’s lead, tried my best to study and learn the basics of the era’s technology. The studying paid off as I was able to cook dinner for Seungcheol and his father. I felt very proud of myself as I watched them eat and exchange satisfied smiles. I had managed to do my duty successfully. At that moment, it was the small things that made me feel happier and better about everything.

The day passed by surprisingly fast, and before I could even notice, I had prepared some evening tea and snacks for the small Choi family, and then returned to my room. After a refreshing shower and dressing up in a comfortable pyjama, I actually started to feel at home. The huge room still wasn’t feeling like my own, and the bed was overly comfortable for me, but I tried to believe I’d get used to it in time. It had been over 24 hours since my arriving in this strange century, and I was still stuck there. I probably wouldn’t be able to go back anytime soon – unless a miracle would occur. But there was one thing that kept me thinking hopefully. I had met Wonwoo. I had seen him twice since I had woken up here. He didn’t seem to recognize me but I’d make sure to meet him again somehow, and try to talk to him.

I let out a sigh and turned to lay on my stomach on the bed. I was feeling very tired since I hadn’t really slept the night before, but I didn’t seem to be able to fall asleep. A sudden knock from the door surprised me.

“Dami?” I heard Seungcheol’s voice from behind the door.

“Come in”, I replied and sat up on the bed.

Seungcheol opened the door and stepped in. Judging from his appearance, he had just showered. His black hair was damp and he had changed into his pyjama, which was, unlike all of his black clothing, white.

“What is it?” I asked.

“This”, he said, holding something in his hand. I squinted my eyes and saw a small device that reminded me of the tiny mp3 players everyone had when I was back in elementary school. I raised my eyebrows and got up from the bed. I took the device from the boy’s hand and glanced at it, then at Seungcheol.

“It’s a phone”, he said. “Press the power button.”

I did as I was told and a hologram popped up into the air. It was about a size of an iPad and seemed to have the functions of a regular smartphone. I blinked my eyes a few times in surprise. So this is how the phone market is developing.

“I added dad’s phone number, and mine as well”, he said.

I flashed him a small smile. “Thank you.”

He replied to my smile with his own and playfully patted my head, messing my hair. “Don’t call me every other minute, alright?”

“Alright, sir”, I mumbled and sat back down to the bed.

“The thing I said about being a lord was a joke”, the boy stated with a more serious expression. “I’m not a vain person.”

I looked up at Seungcheol who was eyeing me from behind his long eyelashes. Dressed in his white pyjamas, he actually looked like a little boy. I almost wanted to get up and pinch his cheek, but didn’t dare to. He was my lord even if he didn’t want to use such titles.

“I’ve figured out that much”, I said. “Thank you for today.”

The boy smiled at me. “You’re welcome. Good night, Dami.”

“Good night”, I replied and smiled at the boy as he closed the door after exiting the room.

I turned to lay on my back on the bed. Good night. That was exactly what I wished for. A good night’s sleep without rolling around. And hopefully, a chance to meet Wonwoo.

Good night.