Was she dreaming?
Did she hear him right?
The king wanted to know her better?
To the point that he was willing to learn a whole new language so that he could communicate with her language as well?
–gner
She must've misheard.
–reigner
Why would he want to?
"Ya! Foreigner girl!"
Whipping her head to her left, Tzuyu looked at the person who was silently screaming her name to get her attention.
"Yes?"
The person in front of her looked around them as if she was checking for something or someone.
"You have to stop spacing out before Ms. Heeji catches you" she scolded in a whisper "If you're going to clean the floor, then actually clean"
As of now, Tzuyu was currently kneeling down on the floor as she and the other maids in the palace was asked to wipe the palace's floor clean, leaving no spec of dust behind.
"R-right, I-I'm sorry"
The girl just scoffed at her as she continued to wipe the floor neatly with the cloth in her hands. Tzuyu sighed, It's been a day since the king told her that he wanted her to teach him her language. This afternoon is when they we're supposed to start the lessons, which Tzuyu has been wondering when they we're going to start but thankfully Jinho came to her and informed her.
Shaking her head, she brought up her hands to her face and slapped her cheeks to get her mind to focus on what she was supposed to be doing at the moment. Gripping the slightly wet cloth in her hand she scrubbed the floor clean to distract herself for what was to come even if it was for a moment.
After four hours of cleaning all the floors of the east side of the palace, all of the maids, including Tzuyu we're asked to line up in a room at the center of the palace.
Tzuyu stood at the third row next to girl who scolded her earlier and only now did Tzuyu realize how short the girl was next to her. The door of the room they standing in opened and a woman in her forties came in, wearing an awfully bright colored hanbok with her tied up in a bun wearing too many unnecessary accessories on her hair.
"You girls did good" the woman said, most likely to be Ms. Heeji and Tzuyu couldn't help but flinch after hearing her voice, it was unusually high pitched and sharp that it hurt her ears.
"but you could have done BETTER!" she scolded, her hands on her hips as she scanned the look of everyone's faces "But it's alright, since I'm in a good mood, I will let this pass"
"Now, for the monthly roll call!" she announced and everyone in the room immediately tensed up "Starting from the left, go!"
With that, the first girl at the start announced something that Tzuyu couldn't understand and it seemed as if she said her name right after.
Tzuyu desperately tried to understand what they we're saying but nothing came to mind, it was already at the end of the second row. Tzuyu was starting to panic, was it numbers? She didn't know how to count in Korean, even till now she still had trouble understanding some words.
"이십 (eeship)"
Her palms started to sweat, just one more girl and it was her turn. Her mind was filled with negative things, that she couldn't think straight. Looking down at her feet she felt disappointed at herself. How could she not take the time to learn to count in Korean? Why did she think it was unnecessary for her to do so?
She was stupid.
"Eeshipee" a voice whispered at her side as she looked to her side and realized it was the same girl from before. She opened her mouth to ask what she meant when suddenly it was the girl to her left started to speak up, she was next.
"이십 일(eeshipil)"
Ah, it was her turn but the girl to her right just whispered once again.
So Tzuyu said what came to her mind at the moment "이십 이(eeshipee)" looking at Ms. Heeji and the others, it seemed as though they understood what she said which relieved her "Zhao Tzuyu" she bowed her head as Ms.Heeji nodded at her.
Ending at the the forthiet-girl, they we're finally dismissed while some of the other girls we're ordered around and luckily for Tzuyu she wasn't part of it. Walking out of the room she started to head for her shared room with two other girls who were working here as well, from what she knew it seemed as though some of the girls went back to their homes after work while some stayed in the palace.
Still feeling embarrassed and ashamed of herself, Tzuyu gathered up her hair as tied up into a quick and messy ponytail not realizing there was a person in front of her until she heard a loud thump. Looking down at the person she bumped into she frantically apologized as she held out her hand to help. Grabbing her hand, Tzuyu helped her up.
"You should be careful next time, lucky for you it was just me, foreign girl"
Hearing the familiar nickname made Tzuyu realize it was the once again the same girl from before. Tzuyu took a good look at the kind girl who helped her, she had big eyes and her hair was cut short up to her shoulders.
"I am so sorry"
"It's alright, just be more careful. You don't want to bump into anyone who isn't as nice as me" the girl reminded.
"Y-you are indeed nice" Tzuyu blurted out "You've helped me so much"
"Is that so?" the girl just laughed "It was nothing"
"If you don't mind me asking, h-how did you know I didn't know how to–" feeling shy about admitting she didn't know how to count in Korean, she cut her question short.
"Count? It was obvious from your eyes and the way you acted, and of course the fact that you're from a foreign country"
"A-ah is that so" the both of them started to talk while walking, going in the same direction Tzuyu was headed to.
"May I ask another question?" Tzuyu wondered.
"What is it?"
"Why do we have to do that?"
"Ah, the monthly roll call? You see Ms. Heeji doesn't call us by our names, she calls us by our numbers. There's really no order to the numbers since it changes every month and because she doesn't seem to care"
"Ah I see"
Stopping in front the door of her shared room, Tzuyu pushed it open but was shocked to see the other girl do the same.
"D-do you–"
"We share the same room, I knew you we're still adjusting but I'm quite shocked you didn't even recognize me"
Both entering the room, Tzuyu put her palms together and muttered an apology for not recognizing her.
"It's alright, you probably don't see me often because I work overnight and all of us are quite busy in the morning that we can't interact"
"Once again I'm sorry, I feels so ashamed of myself. My name is Zhao Tzuyu"
"Tzu-yu? That's– that's a unique name…"
"May I ask for your n-name?" Tzuyu asked.
The girl remained silent, she grabbed the skirt of her hanbok as she curled her fist.
"Y-you don't have to answe–"
"Jisoo"
The girl answered as she heaved out a sigh and combed her hair with her fingers making it disheveled.
"My name, it's Park Jisoo"
Tzuyu has always been observant, the way Jisoo's eyes darkened as she glared at the ground and how her eyebrows knitted together, she could tell she was annoyed.
"Why do you look so–" Tzuyu took a pause, wondering if she should really ask such a personal question to a person she just met "-so annoyed?"
Jisoo's eyes widened, her lips parted as she look at Tzuyu with a bewildered expression.
"Me? Annoyed?" Tzuyu nodded.
Jisoo lowered herself down unto her bed as she made herself comfortable "My parents gave me this name because they wanted me to follow the same footsteps of someone with the same name"
"Is that why?" Asked Tzuyu who sat down on her bed, following Jisoo when she did so.
"I don't like it, they wish for me to find a wealthy man to be wed and bear his child and just live of his fortune, just like that person. I despise such an idea with all my heart! I-I want to be my own person and love whom I want and as I wish! I don't want to be that person, I want to be me"
As Jisoo ranted on, her voice raised when she was clearly agitated at something. Tzuyu marveled at her, awed by her.
"Do you wish to have a different name then?"
Jisoo went silent, taken back by Tzuyu's question that came suddenly out of her mouth out of curiosity. Jisoo pondered, she knew that it was impossible, but if only it was. Jisoo scoffed at her own naivety, but she couldn't help but wish that maybe someday, she can choose her own name, her own person.
"Yes, If I we're to be born again" said Jisoo, quietly but was loud enough for Tzuyu to hear.
"And what would your name be?"
….
"Jihyo
it would be Jihyo"
———————————————
A/N:
This chapter might be random but I wanted Tzuyu to have some moments/bonds with other characters other than Taejun. And does everyone now know who they are going to be when they get reincarnated??
And if you wanted a face to match with the other characters:
Seo Jooyung – Lee Jungjin
Kim Jihyun –Kim Youngok