Music played, gisaengs danced, and entertainers entertained. It was the banquet for the youngest princess’s becoming of age. The court subjects were busy drinking and enjoying their meals, and the princesses were busy chatting with the children of the court subjects. This left a perfect time for Yeonhae to escape. Taking only that hairpin the Queen Dowager gave her and a thin cloak, she slipped out of the gates quietly, miraculously unnoticed by the guards. She raced away, looking vigorously for the Shaman’s humble shop. Yeonhae dashed around every corner of the market, but somehow she couldn’t find that shop. She felt a strange tinkle of water down her nose. *Why what is this? I’ve never seen this before! It’s beautiful.* Yeonhae drew her hands out from her cloak to feel the damp sensation through her delicate fingertips. Soon, her body was soaked in the wet substance, but it didn’t matter. She had discovered something amazing. Yeonhae looked up at the moon, and wondered how it could still manage shine through this thick matter.  *One day, I hope to see this again with that boy!*

            “Rain,” A familiar voice called  out.

            Yeonhae’s head spun around, and soon she was facing a lady in a grey cape. She recognized that voice as the Shaman  she had met earlier.

            “S-shaman?” Her voice quivered in the cold.

            “Yes darling, it is I. I know very well what you came here for, and what you seek. It is a very dangerous path to choose.” The Shaman’s eye’s glowed.

            Yeonhae looked at her, startled. “You do?”

            “You seek a young man’s distant heart, correct?”

            Yeonhae could only nod as a response.

            “Let me tell you something, child. That young man is in a whole another dimension in time and space, in which no other person can reach. You will have to pay a heavy price for your choice. First, after you have entered the dimension, you will never be able to return back to the palace. You can never go back to your father or your sisters. Are you willing to do that?”

            Yeonhae hesitated for a moment, but she said in a firm tone, “I will do it.”

            “Second of all, when you enter that dimension, you will have to work with fears of uncontrolled moving objects, and your head will throb so much, you will feel like you are shrinking away. You will also know nothing of this world, so you will be considered as dumb.”

            “I will do it,” *As long as I get to see this boy again,*

            “Lastly child, do you have any special features?”

            “No, Shaman,”

            The Shaman was annoyed at her blunt response. “I shall take away your voice then. Whenever you try to speak, your throat shall burn as it you are swallowing fire. Remember that if you do not win his heart by the 1^st day of the next month’s sunrise, then when the young man marries another, your heart shall shatter, and you will vanish into the particles of the air.”

            “But how am I supposed to communicate with no voice?” Yeonhae cried in panic.

            “Are you regretting? Hesitating? Afraid? You have those beautiful eyes of yours, and your graceful movements to earn the heart of a man, young one.”

            Yeonhae nodded, “I’m not afraid. I’ll do it.”

            “Follow me,”

            Yeonhae followed the enigmatic Shaman into her dark shop. But with some mumble of words, the shop was transformed into a laboratory with potions, objects, and powder. It gave shivers down Yeonhae’s spine, but she brushed the feeling away, knowing that very soon she would meet up with that young man again.

            The Shaman waved her hands in the air, and powder began to collect in a bottle, along with other liquids.

            “Come, dear.” The Shaman motioned.

            Yeonhae stepped forward.

            “This might hurt a bit, but I will be taking your voice now. Any last words?”

            “Farewell,” Was all that Yeonhae could muster up in her mind.

            The Shaman drew a dark shadow out of nowhere, and watched as a pair of dark long fingers took a firm hold on Yeonhae’s neck. She struggled for a bit of time, but relaxed as soon as it let go. Yeonhae tried to speak, but only pain ached .

            “Now that this is all finished, I will explain to you how to make this work. In an hour, you must be at the edge of the market. Drink up this potion, and you will fall into unconsciousness. As you wake up, you will find yourself in the world that you wish you were in. Understood?”

            Yeonhae nodded, grabbed the potion, and ran out the door.

            “Farewell, and good luck, young one.” The Shaman whispered as she disappeared into the dark shadows.

            Yeonhae ran back to the palace, where the banquet had just ended. Many subjects were sleeping in awkward places because of the large amount of alcohol that they had consumed. Yeonhae tiptoed to each of her family member’s rooms, and bid them goodbye in her solemn thoughts.

            *May you all live in happiness, and without mourn.*

            With that, Yeonhae wrapped her cloak tighter, and traveled to the edge of the market, waiting anxiously for the time when she could finally see the young man again. She longed to be in the world that the boy was in, she longed to see him, she longed to touch his soft skin again. Yeonhae had allowed curiosity to get the best of her.

            Yeonhae waited for everyone on the busy streets to disappear into their homes. She wondered how their children managed to survive in these harsh circumstances, because she had always been in the palace. When she was sure no one was there, Yeonhae popped open the gourd that had the potion in it. Taking one last glance of the world she was about to leave forever, she raised the bottle to her lips, and drank its bittersweet taste.

            It felt like Yeonhae was being strangled by a hundred men, for that liquid burned down as she consumed it. With no more strength to struggle anymore, Yeonhae collapsed into the darkness of the night.