Starcrossed

Prologue

The magnificent stone mansion greets Kang Ji-hye after she steps out of the taxi that served as her ride to the estate outside the city. The young researcher gives the driver another quick thank you before closing the door and studies the house nervously as the rolling tires crush the stones on the driveway. She once again checks the wrinkled paper bearing the name and the address of the woman she was looking for before walking over to the large mahogany doors.

A butler answers the door, greets her in the grandest manner, and leads her across the marble foyer and into a brightly lit drawing room. Ji-hye looks around with wide eyes, taking note of the rare art pieces hanging on the walls that she had only read in books and the books lined up on the shelves that beat the early editions the school library boasted. It seems that the rumors are true, that the lady of the house might possibly be the richest person in the country.

Someone clearing his throat from behind her captures her attention. She turns around to find the butler in the room with her once again. He does not return the smile she gives him and proceeds with the introductions expected of him.

"Ms. Kang, this is Ms. Yoon Seri."

The most beautiful woman Ji-hye has ever seen in her life walks into the room with a grace that she can only hope to attain. Everything she wears, from the ornate pin that holds her gray hair in place to the black-and-white dress that wraps around her petite body, seems to be from a golden age that was long gone. Yet, despite everything around her screaming wealth and glory, the older woman has the kind smile on her lips and a humble curiosity in her eyes as she regards her.

Her breath catches when the muted sunlight streaming from the windows casts a glow on her. It momentarily gives her a glimpse of the young woman she used to be and erases any lingering doubts on whether or not she was the one they were looking for.

Ji-hye finally steps forward and greets her with a low bow. "Ms. Yoon, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Kang Ji-hye, a senior researcher from the national university, and I have a few questions to ask you if you do not mind. I... I do apologize for barging into your home without any prior notice."

Seri gives her a warm smile. "No, please. I find you being here quite a wonderful surprise. I rarely get visitors these days. Please sit."

The staff provides them with some tea and biscuits to snack on while they talk, and Ji-hye takes note of how even their movements seem to be from an earlier time. The whole house acts as if it were a time capsule and that fact excites the researcher even more. "Chang-sik tells me that you mentioned something about a photograph," Seri says about her butler when everyone leaves to give them some privacy. "May I see it?"

It prompts her to rummage through the accordion folder she had brought along with her. "I – uh – should probably tell you about how I came about it first before I show it to you," she suggests to which the older woman patiently nods. "My colleagues and I are currently sorting through the archives related to the Korean War for documentation and preservation. While we were down there, we came across a soldier's uniform and found this photograph inside the chest pocket."

Ji-hye carefully hands the weathered photograph to Seri with both hands and watches as the kind expression on her face falls upon recognition. "Oh," the latter gasps with her eyes filling up with tears and her lower lip quivering with emotion. She struggles to find the right words before lifting her shimmering eyes up to meet hers. "Has this been there all this time? How...?"

The researcher blinks back the tears that sprung up in her own eyes at the sight of her emotions. "Yes, um," she clears her throat. "Everything in there has been in storage since their recovery. When we found this, we checked the other uniforms to see if there were any photographs as well, but there were none. You must have been a very special person to him, Ms. Yoon."

Seri tries to keep her emotions at bay and fails, "I'm so sorry. Please give me a moment." Ji-hye reaches over to put a hand over hers which the older woman immediately squeezes back in gratitude. After a few more minutes, she asks. "Is there a name on that soldier's uniform?"

"Yes, there is," the researcher nods, noting how she seems to be holding her breath at her pause. "The name embedded on the uniform is Ri Jeong Hyeok."