Quietly kicking the pebbles of the cement road in front of her, she continuously pinched the skin on her arm.

‘He’s running late,’ she thought dully, but even through the anxiety, her face was schooled into impassiveness, something she’d had to learn with time.

Her hand trembled when she heard hurried steps heading towards her, but she didn’t want to invite suspicion if it wasn’t the person she was waiting for.

“Have you seen the break of dawn?” the man asked under his breath, voice rough and urgent.

“I’ve never noticed,” Chaeyeon answered, extending her own hand with the small bag in it. “I always thought it was at the palm of my hands.”

The man nodded, handing her a small stack of papers held with a rubber band. He then ran off in the direction he had come from. Chaeyeon waited for a few moments, per protocol, and started walking in the opposite direction.

It was nearing dusk.

--

A few hours later, she found herself walking home, her hoodie, as always, protecting her face from being seen by anyone else.

She knew she was a nobody, but the time working under her boss had made paranoid at the smallest sound and sight. She never knew either when he would disregard their deal, and she would end up arriving to a home full of dead bodies.

The mental image gave her nausea (or was it the result of hunger?), so she tried redirecting her thoughts towards something else.

It was inevitable, her mind would always go to the same place.

It would go to a happy time, when she, her parents, and Chaeryeong-ie had spent another Sunday at the local fair, winning more plushies to their already growing collection.

It would go to a time when she would be laughing with her friends at Youngin, who was dancing goofily in front of the mirror.

It would go to a time when her mother had been alive, and her father hadn’t become a shell of his old self.

By the time she arrived at home, the lights were out, and, upon inspection, she found her sisters sleeping soundly on their futons, their breath slow and controlled by sleep.

Sitting next to their futons, she closed her eyes, hoping to grab what little sleep she could.

She barely noticed her own sigh of relief.

--

Dressed in the same hoodie, she waited at the pier for the next client, who, coincidentally (or was it?), was running late.

This specific shipment made her even more nervous than the ones of the previous day.

Although all drugs were illegal in South Korea, she was sure that would probably get her more time behind bars than weed.

If she was caught. When she gets caught.

There wasn’t many people at this side of the beach, which made it the perfect spot for deliveries and transactions, of which Chaeyeon had also taken part of a few times. She didn’t know if that meant that they trusted her, or precisely because she was disposable, she was sent to do these things.

Her heart spiked at the cynism of her thoughts, still, even after more than two years of doing this job, unable to stomach what she was becoming, what she had become.

An arm suddenly twisted around her neck, making it difficult to breath (and to scream for help, but who would come aid, frankly?). Another hand touched her below the waist, and Chaeyeon immediately knew what it was about.

Using her foot to hit his anckle, she managed to weaken his stance, which gave her enough room to elbow him in the stomach.

It was obvious either he wasn’t used to fighting or he didn’t expect her to fight back (she bet it was both), since his arm slackened as he suddenly spluttered for air. Ducking to escape his embrace, she turned quickly to kick him down there.

He was now groaning on the floor, his hands undecided on whether clutching his stomach or his crotch.

Despite not being the first time a junkie tried stealing the delivery, her heart still beat hardly against her head, and her breath came out in jagged bursts filled with adrenaline.

She knew she had to run away, and was about to, when she felt a powerful gaze literally pin her to the ground. There was a huge sense of urgency within her, burning her entire body, but her feet wouldn’t obey.

Turning to look straight on at the owner of such gaze, her belly filled with dread at the sight.

A stranger stood a few steps from her, like he had always been there, watching. His eyes were black, beady, and his smile was contorted in a way Chaeyeon couldn’t explain.

“It’s time for you to go,” he announced cheerfully, sending shivers down Chaeyeon’s spine.

She wanted to cry, to scream, to beg for mercy, but instead, she found herself falling to the deep ocean, barely feeling her body touch the water before passing out.

--

A small cough. “It’s okay, darling. Just breath.”

Chaeyeon continued coughing as she tried to remember what had happened. She had just woken up, and a foreign feeling of dread and confusion filled her, like she was obviously not supposed to be there. Her eyes finally opened, albeit not without a good fight, and she was greeted with the sight of a weirdly dressed stranger.

Barely having any strength in her body, she let the stranger’s hands steady her, leading her to sit. She felt a small wooden cup touch her lips, making her part them unconsciously. Immediately, a small stream of water fell onto , and she struggled to swallow it without choking. Her body screamed relief, as if it had been ages since she had first tasted water.

Closing her eyes again, she expected the man to speak, but he didn’t. Walking again into her dream world, she slept again.

--

Her confusion never really went away, and she understood why the second time she woke up again, her mind in a better state. This time, though, there was no strangely clothed man, only the quietness of a desolate house. It came straight out of a historical film. She stood up slowly, feeling her body burn in pain, gazing at her environment, marveling at the arquitecture the house had on its inside.

There was also some stuff in here. However, she couldn’t even begin to inspect them when the sliding door opened and the strangely dressed man entered, looking shocked.

“How are you-? Oh, miss, please sit down. It’s not healthy for you to be standing up.” Why did he speak with antique words? Whatever, Chaeyeon couldn’t be bothered with that.

“Who are you and why am I here?” she asked warily, a dangerous edge in her voice. The man, although not so small, cowered at her voice for a moment, before straightening up again, a frown set in his features.

“Is that the way you treat someone who has saved you from death?”

“What are you talking about? And why are you dressed like that?” The man was about to open his mouth, but Chaeyeon interrupted him, remembering her responsabilities. “It doesn’t matter, I need to go.” She rushed to look for the door, which was also very oddly shaped.

Her breath caught in when she saw she was in the middle of nowhere, evident by the lack of roads or even the smallest traces of technology and civilization. It suddenly was too hard to exist, to be, and she collapsed, the weight of everything that had happened to her finally hitting her at once.

The man rushed to her aid, holding her for moment, before making her lie on the dirt. Chaeyeon, try she might, couldn’t get up again. It felt surreal, the feeling that coursed through her body, making her feel as if her own soul was being ripped apart. ‘Something isn’t right’, she thought as the man tried to fan her with his hand. ‘What did he do to me?’

“I told you miss, you shouldn’t be moving too much. It has only been a few days, and your body is still unwell.” She took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind from the fog that engulfed her.

“Few days?”

“That’s right. We found you in a bad state, washed up the shore. What happened to you?”

“I...” Chaeyeon stuttered, not knowing how to answer the mans inquiry.

The bag.

The junkie.

The fight.

That... that monster.

The sea.

“I don’t... just, where am I?”

“You’re in the outskirts of Gyesan, not far from the capital.”

“G-gyesan? Wha...” Chaeyeon stuttered. ‘A city named Gyesan? Close to Seoul?’

“Seoul?” the man asked, seemingly confused. Apparently she didn’t have any filter in this moment.

“Yes, Seoul, the capital of...” Chaeyeon trailed off, no daring to finish her sentence. No, what if this man was playing games with her? Or what if he was insane? She couldn’t say anything that would endanger her at all.

“No, sorry,” she answered, trying to reincorporate herself. “Just, how can I get to Busan?”

“Busan? Why would you even want to go to Busan?”

“I... I just need to,” Chaeyeon answered more defensively. What was wrong with him? Dread filled her again. Was he planning on keeping her here?

“But it’s dangerous, miss,” he answered hurriedly.

“Dangerous? How is...” Her voice was drowned by the neigh of a horse. She gaped at the animal, which was just arriving, carrying an old woman and another man on its back.

“What’s going on? What happened to the mermaid?” the man asked while he tried dismounting the old woman.

“She says she wants to go to Busan,” the man holding her answered. The old woman gasped, rushing to meet Chaeyeon.

“What are you saying, child?” the woman exclaimed, her hands grabbing onto Chaeyeon’s. “Do you have family there?”

“I... I do,” Chaeyeon answered quietly, each second that passed by freaking her out even more. Nothing was making sense.

“Poor thing,” the woman murmured. “No, child, you must not turn back. There is nothing left there.”

“What do you mean?” The woman turned to look at her companion, who shared with her a gaze filled with sympathy.

“Busan was destroyed by the sea raiders several moons ago.” Her exclamation only filled them with even more sympathy, but Chaeyeon’s exclamation wasn’t that of grief, but of disbelief.

‘Sea raiders? Attacking Busan? That’s ridiculous. Unless...’

“Uhm, what is the king’s name?” she asked tentatively, hoping she wouldn’t make a fool of herself.

“Are you thinking about going to King Heondeok?” the man holding her asked, flabbergasted.

‘King Heondeok? Of...’

“Silla?”

--

Chaeyeon asked for more time to rest, her mind reeling at the implication of her interactions with these strange characters.

‘Am I...? No, it’s ridiculous.’

But was it ridiculous? That whole day before falling into the water had seemed strange since the beginning.

“It’s time for you to go,” she murmured as she pinched her arm for the hundredth time. She repeated the same words several times, as if tasting them in .

It had been real. That man had been real. Her fall to the treacherous ocean had been real. And her being here was real.

“Then, did I time-travel?” The notion still sounded ridiculous in her head, a part of her still expecting a camera crew and a tv host to pop into her room and tell her that she had been pranked. But how could she explain the dirt roads? The ramshackle house? Just... everything. And if she recalled it correctly, when she had ran outdoors, what she had felt then had been...

She had. Somehow, that horrible thing had transported her back into the past. A part of her still didn’t believe it, but if she thought about it, it was best to treat it as reality, and be ridiculed for being pranked, than have it be real, then blabbering on about all of this being a product of her mind, and being treated like a crazy woman.

She’d rather be a crazy woman in modern Korea than in the Kingdom of Silla.

That wasn’t what was the most important, anyways. Her mental health was in the backburner compared to her sisters. It was imperative to leave this place and find them. She figures they definitely could hold on for a few hours, and they wouldn’t starve at all, as dad usually deposited money on their bank account (and Chaeryeong was the one who carried the debit card), and it wasn’t as if they were babies (after all, Chaeryeong was just a year younger, barely 18 years old, and Chaemin was 16).

But what if what that man had said is true? What if she had stayed here for a few days, and she hadn’t gone to work? What if her boss went to look out for her sisters?

She immediately jumped to her feet. There was no time to lose! She needed to go, to protect her sisters from that... that thing.

But she couldn’t run like a madwoman, so she sat down again to think, trying to reign in her fear and panic at the thoughts that were now filling her mind.

If she was in the Unified Kingdom of Silla, then that meant that she was far, far away from the present times. Probably, the 9^th century? At this point in time, there was barely anything resembling the technology of industrialization.

What else was there about this time period she could remember? Truth be told, compared to the Joseon era, which she would often see in dramas, she had almost no idea of Silla. In fact, she wasn’t sure how she had managed to link the king’s name to this era. It had just... appeared in her mind.

Wait!

She opened the door to the cottage, looking directly at the three people she had encountered thus far, who were exaggeratedly entranced by the scenery. Narrowing her eyes for a moment, she decided to let it go.

“Excuse me, did you say we’re close to the capital?” she asked softly, this time using formal language.

“Yes, Geumsong is at a week by foot.”

‘A week by foot!’

“Is there a way to get there faster?” The other man, as if psychically conected to the old woman, looked at her at the same time she turned to look at him. After a short showdown, the man seemed to aquiesce.

“I could take you there,” the man said, grunting at the old woman’s elbow hitting his ribs. “And give you some supplies.”

Chaeyeon was surprised.

“Are you sure?” Although she didn’t quite feel embarrassed about the offering, she was skeptical of such hospitality.

“I see it in your eyes. You have a mission. It won’t do well to stop you,” the old woman answered sagely.

“If that’s the case, then you should go disguised,” the owner of the cottage said. The other two nodded.

“Disguised as what?”

“As a man, of course.”

“Yes, a lone woman on the road won’t last long,” the old woman added solemnly. Chaeyeon nodded, knowing they were right. As it was, in her present, she had come close to being taken advantage of several times.

“Then, come with me. I’ll give you some clothes,” the owner of the cottage gestured, standing up.

“Then come back. You’ll need some directions,” the woman called out as Chaeyeon closed the door.

“You leave tomorrow, at the break of dawn, as you’ll have more time to travel then.” He opened a drawer from a small piece of furniture, getting her backpack. “Here are your belongings, everything I could find on the shore, anyways. Also, I don’t know what is this,” he added, holding her cellphone, which she snatched almost immediately. She still held hope that it still worked.

He opened another drawer, taking out some garments. “And this are your garments. I will leave you to change”

“Wait. I don’t even know how to...” The man looked at her for a few moments before opening the door and calling for the older woman, who came quickly to see her after she had taken off her clothes.

“Very well, child. I can see you’re not entirely blinded to the reality of life on the run,” the woman started, grabbing some cloth. “So I can rest assured that you will not take a foolish decision. You do not trust anyone, ANYONE, who crosses your path.” Chaeyeon winced at the pain she felt at her chest. “You talk to no one. You do not let anyone see you, for they might see you alone and attack you. Jingeon can only take you to the capital. Look out for Master Shinyu, as he often employs young lads to do small jobs here and there. Tell him his sweetheart sends you. Do you understand?” Chaeyeon nodded. The woman grabbed the male garments.

“From this moment on, you are not a woman. You are a man. You were born a man. You have always been a man. If you carry that certainty in your heart, nobody will ever discover you. It is imperious for you to not let anyone know of your identity. I’ve seen far too many aimless women have terrible destinies.” The woman smoothed the outer garb she had helped put on. Chaeyeon slided her-his legs down the pants, securing them with the belt.

“Now, do you know how to do your hair?” At Chaeyeon’s negative, the woman softly grabbed his hair.

--

Hours later, when she was laying on makeshift bed Hyogyeong (the owner of cottage’s name, as she came to know later), her mind reeled at everything that just seemed to be passing in quick succession. Since the moment she had decided that everything was real, and she really had time-travelled to the 9^th century, she hadn’t let her mind rumiate over anything, instead, remembering again and again every single thing that she had been told and taught that day.

It was only when her head laid on the floor that her mind, like a pandora box, opened up to reveal a myriad of thoughts.

And, reveling in the loud sound of the insects, she had to contain the long overdue tears, not just for today, but for what this represented, what this ALL had represented. It was to protect her sisters. Everything has and will always be to protect her sisters.

She would not let anyone hurt the people she loves, ever.

She would find her way home.

--

--