Seoul University — — 2020

When Taeyong came back to the frat the next morning, Jaehyun was waiting in his room with an uncomfortably wide smile. 

“Uhh…hey man, what’re you doing here?” Taeyong asked with a laugh.

Jaehyun beamed, “How did it go last night?”

“Ew, you don’t want details.” Taeyong scoffed.

Jaehyun was too excited to care, “I can’t believe after so long you two finally found each other.”

Taeyong scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, it was one night, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“But it must’ve meant so much to you both.” Jaehyun gushed. 

Taeyong paused before side-eyeing his friend, “Look, I know that Haeun is like one of your best friends but I should tell you that she and I aren’t dating or anything. It was just a one-night thing. We both agreed on it. So before you start planning a wedding, you should know that the two of us probably aren’t going to be seeing each other again.”

Jaehyun’s phone tumbled out of his hand, colour draining from his face as he stared disbelieving at Taeyong, “W-What are you talking about? Yesterday Mark sai—“

“Mark was at the apartment when we got there, we didn’t really get to talk.” Taeyong said as he tossed his bag aside and wandered into the kitchen. 

Jaehyun trailed behind him, his face still splashed with incredulity. “Wait, wait, explain this again to me. How did this happen?”

“I walked her home and we spent the entire time flirting. I kissed her, she kissed me back and then she invited me in. I think…you can fill in the gaps.” He said while searching the fridge for something to eat. 

Jaehyun gulped the brick down his throat, “So Haeun is just…”

“A friend.” Taeyong said with a smile, “And don’t worry, we both agreed that neither of us is really looking for a long term thing.”

Jaehyun shoved his fingers through his hair, “But you’re soulmates.”

Taeyong spat out the water in his mouth and gaped at Jaehyun, “What the hell? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really like Haeun. She’s amazing. And last night was…”

“Please don’t.” Jaehyun said with a scrunch of his nose.

Taeyong chuckled before shaking his head, “All I’m saying is that one fun night with a cool girl doesn’t make us soulmates, man.”

Jaehyun could only stare. After so long, he thought that the two of them finally synced up. It didn’t make sense that yet again, they were off-beat with each other. It was becoming a cruel game of push and pull. Giving them a taste of each other before ripping them apart.  

“Anyways, I need to catch up on some lab notes, wanna grab dinner or something later?” Taeyong asked.

How could he be so cavalier?

Jaehyun nodded silent and Taeyong clapped him on the shoulder before heading up the stairs. Before he could dwell, his phone rang, Mark’s name popping up. 

“Hey, I don’t know what the is going on but Tae—“

“Haeun’s the same.” Mark cut off, “Tried talking to her about and she doesn’t remember anything from the past except this life and said that it was all a one night stand slash friends with benefits deal. I swear they were different last night.” 

Jaehyun felt his head spin at the information. This meant that 12 hours ago everything had gone back to normal where they both remembered everything before something flipped and they ended up back as strangers. 

They must've temporarily broken the curse only for it to reset.

“Mark…”

This curse didn’t make sense. And he needed answers.

“Gather everyone up and meet me in the quad.”

-----

“What are we supposed to do?” Nayoon asked as everyone huddled together in a group.

Jaehyun, Doyoung, Johnny, Mark, and Nayoon were all caught up over what had transpired the night before. Now, the group was stumbling through silence.

“What can we do? It’s not like we can force their memories to work.” Doyoung said. 

Jaehyun tucked his hands in his pockets and eyed his friends, “There’s one thing we can do.”

Everyone watched him expectantly but his eyes locked in on Nayoon pleadingly, “We need to find the shaman. She must exist in this life too.”

Nayoon’s lips parted at the implication. Johnny was the first to ask it out loud, “But we have no idea who or where she is. If we want to track her down, we need to…”

“Yeah.” Jaehyun mumbled, “We need to track down the Princess and find out what she knows.”

Mark looked skeptical, “How?”

“She’s a model.” Nayoon muttered, “An amateur model, I’ve worked with her before when I need photos for my portfolio.”

Jaehyun winced, “I’m sorry, little bird.”

“It’s fine.” She breathed out, shaking her head, “It’s just weird seeing her.”

Nayoon pulled out her phone and shot out a text, a few seconds later, a reply chimed back, “Well lucky us, she’s on campus, she must be helping out with other fashion majors’ portfolios.”

Jaehyun chewed on his lip, “Let’s go see her.”

-----

“Well, I sincerely hoped I’d never have to see you again.” The Princess sneered as she flipped her hair. 

Jaehyun tensed his jaw, “You rejected me.”

“Because our marriage had a bad omen.” She fired back.

Everyone shifted uncomfortably except Nayoon who fought the urge to roll her eyes.  The Princess was beautiful but the stuck up, spoiled brat attitude didn’t fade after 100 lifetimes. 

“The shaman at your palace, she's the one who told you about the omen, right?” Nayoon asked. 

Her glare fell on Nayoon before she looked between her and Jaehyun and scoffed, “Oh, please don’t tell me you downgraded to a robe maker.”

“Watch it.” Jaehyun growled. 

Nayoon just sighed, “We just want to talk to the shaman. Do you know where she is?”

“Why should I help you?” She scoffed. 

Jaehyun glared, “Because you gain nothing from not helping us.” 

“Honestly, I’m fine with that.” The Princess snorted. 

Mark’s eye twitched, “We can pay you.”

“I’m rich.” She deadpanned. 

Nayoon leaned back in her chair with a smirk, “I have photos.”

“Of what?” The Princess’s face fell serious. 

“Of you. Pictures of you mid-blink, mid-sneeze, picking your wedgie, and everything else you did when you were at my photoshoot. I had the photographer keep all the b-roll.” Nayoon challenged, “Would be a shame that such an aspiring model has such unflattering photos of her spread all over the internet. I think I have some on my phone, do you want to s—“

“Enough!” She shrieked before clearing , “Fine. I’ll tell you where she is. Ugh, I was wrong. You two deserve each other.”

-----

Mark’s eyes widened as they walked into the city archive building, “Wait, me and Haeun came here before, when we were looking into our past lives. We found all sorts of proof. We probably spent hours holed up here.”

Jaehyun raised his brow, “And the shaman’s supposed to be here?”

“That’s what the Princess said.” Nayoon sighed. 

Jaehyun glanced at her before reaching for her hand, “I think I’m forever in debt to Taeyong for making sure I didn’t marry that woman.”

“Right.” Doyoung snorted, “She’s awful.”

They all stood around awkwardly, looking at all the shelves of folders when someone cleared their throats. Turning, they stared at one of the workers, an older woman, who stood with her hands on her hips, “Can I help you kids?”

“You.” Jaehyun breathed out, “You were at the palace when I went to visit the Princess. You’re the shaman, aren’t you?”

Mark stepped towards her, “I remember you. You were working when me and Haeun were here. You gave us that book we dropped. The one about the Lover’s Curse.”

She eyed the group before a slow smile curled up her red lips, “Where’s the young guard?”

“It’s really you.” Mark muttered, “Did you know? When Haeun and I were here?”

Her eyes sparkled, “Why do you think I gave you a book that you didn’t take out?”

“Does that mean the curse is real? Is that what happened to Taeyong and Haeun?” Johnny asked. 

“Why don’t we take a seat? I think there’s much to talk about.”

-----

“Where do you want to begin?” She asked. 

Nayoon braced herself on her arms, “Why would you allow him to exchange something so important to him? Why not ask for anything else like gold or silk?”

“If gold and silk were his greatest treasure, then I would’ve had it all and he would’ve been a very poor man in this life.” She replied. 

Jaehyun’s brow twitched in annoyance, “Enough with the games. You took their fairytale romance and tore it away from them. How could you do that? How could you hurt them like that?”

“What do you mean by fairytale?” She mused. 

Mark frowned, “Their relationship was perfect. They had everything, they loved each other like crazy and against all odds, they lived happily ever after and they lived like that for every single life except this one.”

Her smile morphed into a look of curiosity, “You don’t remember do you? I suppose in order for the charm to work you’d all need to forget.”

“What are you talking about?” Doyoung burst out, exasperated. 

“The guard and the girl didn’t have a perfect fairytale. In fact, their story is quite tragic.”

Mark laughed in disbelief, “Impossible. They were the happiest, purest couple I’ve ever seen. The only tragedy was that they didn’t know each other earlier.”

“Why?” Jaehyun asked, resting her hand on Nayoon’s arm, “Why are you calling it tragic?”

“The guard, Lee Taeyong, was killed on duty.”

Joseon Dynasty — — 1899

It was like hell was raining down from the heavens.

“No!” King Yoon Oh screamed, attempting to run down the palace stairs but Doyoung and Young Ho held him back. 

Years of the rebels inching closer and closer to the Kingdom had come to a head that dusk. It began when a single arrow tied with a black ribbon was fired over the Palace walls. It wasn’t a warning shot, it was a war cry. 

The gates were knocked down and the rebels came in like waves, screaming and charging with swords and flying arrows. They didn’t care that a new King had taken the throne, all they wanted was for Royal blood to spill onto the roads and for the entire Kingdom to burn to ash. They wanted the King to pay for the problems that past leaders inflicted, ignorant of how badly he wanted to prevent those problems from occurring during his reign. 

He wanted to turn rebels into allies. 

But before the King could negotiate a cease-fire, before the soldiers and guards could come in and suppress the threats, before the King could be murdered, Taeyong grabbed his sword and ran. 

When the King found out, he races to the doors, shoving away anyone who dared stop him. He yelled out orders, demanding all and every force be called to the frontlines but just as he appeared by the doors, he watched Taeyong drop to his knees as a blade pierced through his chest. 

Because a man as seasoned as Taeyong knew that if they hesitated any longer, the fight would be brought to inside the palace doors. Even if he was alone, he could keep the confrontation far away from the King as possible until he had enough backup. 

But all the logic, planning, strategizing in the world couldn't prepare anyone for the pain. 

Jaehyun didn't know how he was supposed to spend the rest of his life without his best friend by his side. How could he have lost his one true love and his closest comrade all in one lifetime? How would he move on? Lead the country? Survive?

There was a reason why Taeyong constantly reminded the Prince that he would never let anything happen to him and why the Prince could never say the same back. 

Tears slipped down his face as he screamed the name of his fallen guard. His friend. His brother. The streets may not be red with Royal blood, but it would never be silent to the sound of the King's cries. Not anymore. 

Taeyong fell on his back as blood pooled around him and Jaehyun could only howl as he watched his best friend take his last breath. 

-----

Taeyong knew he’d die someday. 

It was the cycle of life, he accepted it, not only as something inevitable but as something that might come for him sooner than anyone else. Every time he stepped into the palace, he knew the risks that came with it. 

But he still never imagined dying like this.

In his dreams he’d be 80, surrounded by his children, holding the hand of the love of his life when it happened. 

In reality, he had only been married a few ye