Hello everyone,
I decided to make a sequel to my oneshot Fated Through Time because I felt that there was still a lot of story to tell. I'm posting it as a separate work so Fated will stay as an extra long oneshot for people who prefer those types of fanfics.
I know where I want this story to go but I don't quite know how many chapters it's going to take to get there. I hope you stay with these characters and that this story will continue to keep you entertained.
Enjoy!
-----
Go Ha Jin had just finished an interview with People magazine to promote her new movie which was scheduled to be released later that month. A black SUV was supposed to be waiting outside the main entrance to take her home. Unfortunately, her chauffeur was stuck in traffic and was nowhere near the area when she stepped out of the glass sliding doors of the building. Instead, there waiting was a throng of paparazzi and a mass of fans screaming her name. It was too late for her to go back inside the building because the entrance was already blocked. The bodyguards surrounding her were getting overwhelmed by the amount of people trying to get close. Beside her, one of her guards told her to run and so, she did.
Thirty minutes later, she was still running through the streets of Gangnam to escape the burgeoning flock of screaming fans who were desperately trying to reach her. It was noon on a bright and cloudless day, and the city was filled with tourists and locals alike. As she ran, heads turned at wonder on who she was. Those that didn't recognize her ignored the horde behind her. Those that did either laughed in mockery or joined the hunt.
She turned a corner here and another corner there and then found herself in a dead-end street. She rotated to run back out but instantly found herself lying on the ground and in the arms of the of the tall and muscular wall that she bumped into.
"Miss, watch where you're going!"
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" They said in unison.
He jerked his arms off of her and dusted himself as he stood up. Seeing that she was still on the ground and out of breath, he offered his hand to help her get up.
"Are you ok?" he asked out of courtesy.
"A little scratched up but I'll be fine. You?" she asked still trying to catch her breath. She finally looked up to see his face and her breath hitched. 'Woah! He's hot!' She cleared her throat as she pushed the thought aside.
"Same," he cleared his throat. "Well, take care then," he added and then turned to the street to head back to where he was going.
She attempted to walk in the same direction as he was going but winced at the flash of pain coming from her right ankle.
"Ow!" she said as she lost her balance and braced herself for another fall, but instead of kissing the ground, she found herself still upright and held up by the same set of strong arms.
"Thanks," she grimaced as he helped her move closer to the wall behind them so she could find something to grab on to that wasn't him.
"I thought you said you were fine?" Annoyance evident in his face.
"I think it's just a sprain... If I could just get a hold of my manag..." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as the screaming of fans could be heard getting louder. Dread filled her eyes as she realized what that meant.
"What's wrong?" he took his hands from her when he was confident that she had something steady to hold on to.
Go Ha Jin feebly looked at him. "Please... help me." she begged as she motioned to the main street where the noise sounded like it was getting nearer.
He studied her for a few seconds and his eyes widened as recognition hit him. "Holy shit! You're..."
"Yes. I'm her." she huffed in panic. "What's your name?"
"It's Hong Jong Hyun. Why?" He replied.
"Hong Jong Hyun, please help me," he implored desperately.
He took a step back and looked out to the main street as if in contemplation. Then, stepped back to her and took off his denim jacket and white Yankees baseball cap. "Here, wear this."
She hurriedly took his offering and put them on. "Do you think this enough?"
"I think so. Stay put!" He put both his hands on the wall on either side of her face as the main street started to fill with people who were either getting shoved out of the way or running around in circles looking for her. "Lower your head so they don't see your face," he said as he stepped closer to her to block her form. She did as he said and rested her head on his chest when the space between them receded.
'He's so tall,' Ha Jin thought, distracted as the sound of his heartbeat filled her ears. 'Why is his heart beating so fast? He's not the one getting chased.'
A few minutes passed and they both breathed a sigh of relief when the noise died down in the distance. "I think they're gone..." he stated in a whisper and moved a small step away from her; both arms still on the wall.
"I think you're ri..." she trailed off when, in the corner of her eye, she saw four people enter their street.
She suddenly put her arms around his neck and, without thinking, put her lips to his. Their eyes widened in shock as an electric spark originating from their conjoined lips immediately spread throughout their bodies. In all 25 years of her life, Ha Jin has never felt that way before. Her eyes closed slowly as she slightly parted her mouth in invitation. His eyes fluttered to a close as he, too, gave in. His right arm dropped to her waist to pull her closer while his left one found a spot behind her neck. This prompted her neck to tilt up and sideways which gave them a better angle of deepening their kiss. Their hearts started to beat faster and louder as they got lost in each other's lips.
To the people looking at them, it looked like they were lovers who were taking a rest from shopping and found a moment of privacy in a dead-end street. "Get a room!" They heard someone say as they heard the sound of footsteps wane.
They remained enwrapped in their slowly intensifying kiss even long after the noise from the main street went back to normal.
A long while later, Ha Jin heard another sound of footsteps approaching them but chose to ignore it. "Ahem!" Ha Jin heard her manager's voice from the street entrance. "Ha Jin, that's enough."
Their lips stilled as they opened their eyes in unison and, with bright red faces, stepped away from each other.
'Oh my God! What did I just do?' Ha Jin cringed as she felt the same pain from her right ankle and was thankful when his arms reached out to steady her once again.
"Thanks," she said awkwardly as he handed her to her manager.
He reluctantly let her go. "Right. Umm..." he cleared his throat as he ran a hand through his hair and his almond eyes shyly looked anywhere but at her.
"I'm Ha Jin's friend and manager, Kar Mi Hi. Who might you be?" Ha Jin's friend inquired with humorous attitude.
"He's a friend." Ha Jin spurted out before the man could say anything. "If it wasn't for him, I would've been eaten alive by the crowd." She saw his demeanor change from embarrassed to indifference.
"Riiight... and so you let him eat you instead!" Mi Hi said with a laugh as she saw both parties turn a deeper shade of red.
"Mi Hi! Stop! I'm serious. He's just a friend." Ha Jin demanded while the man cleared his throat.
"Alright then. What's his name?" Mi Hi raised an eyebrow at her.
"Umm... His name is..." Ha Jin's eyes found his in an attempt to get him to help her.
Fortunately, he seemed to have understood the signal. "My name... is none of your concern." Ha Jin smiled and nodded at him.
Mi Hi tried to get closer to him but Ha Jin held her in place as she exaggerated her limp. "But about what happened..." Mi Hi uttered.
"Never happened." Ha Jin interjected. "That... never happened," she said as she looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Right... Nothing happened," he said in assurance as he grinned at her.
'He has a cute smile. Wait! What the hell am I thinking?' Ha Jin thought.
Mi Hi looked back and forth between the two of them and grumbled in annoyance. "Fine! If that's how you want to leave it then, fine!" She pointed at him: "This better not come out in the tabloids or else."
"I swear it. Can I leave now?" he asked as the air became increasingly uncomfortable. He walked back to the main street.
"Wait!" Ha Jin shouted and he looked back at her. "I still have your hat and your jacket."
"Keep it. You need it more than I do." He yelled back and disappeared into the crowd.
"Thank you," she said but knew that he couldn't hear her anymore.
Mi Hi pinched Ha Jin's arm. "You silly girl! I was so worried since you ran off by yourself and had to run after the crowd hoping I could find you first, but here you were making out with a complete stranger! Yes. He's Gorgeous. But are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?"
"I already told you. He just helped me out. He's my savior." Ha Jin said, frustrated.
"What if he tells someone and it spreads in the tabloids? How are we gonna handle that? That's gonna be a big scandal!"
"He's not gonna tell anyone." Ha Jin assured her.
"Why not? How do you know he won't do it? You don't even know who he is!" Mi Hi exclaimed.
"I just... I just know, ok? I have a gut feeling about him."
Mi Hi huffed in infuriation as Ha Jin smiled and got lost in thought. 'Hong Jong Hyun, I hope I'll see you again someday.'
---
They decided to walk out of the dead-end street just in case some fans lingered in the area. Taking a cab was out of the question since she was too recognizable. So, they found a side street not far from where they were and chose to wait there for their driver who was still stuck in Seoul rush hour traffic. While Mi Hi paced back and forth, Ha Jin's attention was drawn to the only store in that street.
It appeared out of place when considering the myriad stores that could be found all over Gangnam. Usually, the stores there were high end and somewhat exclusive. This one was a small antique shop with a small wooden sign that said Ji Mong's Magical Antiques. The neon Open sign flickered beside the door.
"Mi Hi, I'm going in. Just come get me when the driver is here," she told Mi Hi as she pushed the glass door open and walked in with a slight limp.
"Okay. Yell if you need me," Mi Hi bit out.
---
A friendly brown-skinned man greeted Ha Jin the moment the door closed behind her.
"Hello! I'm Ji Mong and welcome to my store! Can I help you find anything?" he asked with a mysterious yet somehow comforting smile.
"No. I'm not really looking for anything in particular. Just looking around." Ha Jin's eyes roamed in curiosity. Plenty of shiny and interesting trinkets spread throughout the store piqued her curiosity.
"What is this one?" she asked, pointing to a small kerosene lamp designed with unfamiliar symbols.
Ji Mong lifted the lamp up. "Let's see. This is wishing lamp."
"You mean like Aladdin? If I rub the lamp, a genie will come out and grant me three wishes?" Ha Jin chuckled.
"Not quite. You see, not all magic is the same. The Aladdin lamp can only grant you three wishes. This lamp can give you an unlimited amount as long as there is a blood moon on the sky."
"A blood moon?" she asked in curiosity.
"Yes. Magic all over the universe heightens during a blood moon. And this lamp can grant you one wish each time it happens."
"Cool," she said but not really believing what he said. Nevertheless, she put out an air of enthusiasm to appease him. She was an award-winning actress after all.
She looked around the rest of the store with Ji Mong trailing behind her while explaining the workings of each trinket she laid eyes on. There were good luck charms of different shapes and sizes, crystal balls that could supposedly tell the future, little items to ward off evil, and countless others with purposes she could not even fathom. In the back portion of the store was an area for jewelry and a set of rings caught her eyes.
"Are these mood rings?" Ha Jin inquired as she remembered the many mood rings she had when she was younger.
"Not quite. Each ring serves a different purpose. Why don't you tell me which one caught your eye so I can tell you what it does?"
"This one." She pointed to one with a large bright red ruby.
"Ah, if you wear that ring, it can make the object of your desire yours."
"So, it's like a love potion but in a ring form." She said while searching the rest of the display.
"I guess you could say that. Yes. But with this, you won't have to feed anything to anyone. You just have to put this on." Ji Mong countered.
"Ooh! What about that one?" she said while pointing at a jade ring.
"That is a phoenix jade ring."
"What is it supposed to do?"
"Well... What this does is very special. In fact, you could say it is one of a kind. My old master said that this used to belong to a Goryeo King... or was it his Queen? Or maybe it was a concubine?"
Ha Jin laughed.
"Hmm... Anyway, it's supposed to help you find your soulmate... or perhaps help your soulmate find you. Sorry, it's been a while since my master passed. I've forgotten some of what he taught me. I'm not really sure which of the two it does. Or maybe it does both. Hmm..."
"Why does it matter which one it does. It serves the same purpose. Soulmates finding each other."
"Now that is where you are wrong, Little Queen. But then again... perhaps you are right."
Ha Jin's forehead furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"No one really understands the workings of magic. It just is or it isn't. It is so complex that even one word or one syllable can change its purpose and how it works. Mixing magic like using two enchanted items at the same time can make it even more complicated." Ji Mong said as he took the jade ring out for her to take a closer look.
"Riiight..." Ha Jin studied the ring under the light. The spots of green seemed to brighten under the light. 'Is that a phoenix?' She slipped the jade ring on to her left index finger and, suddenly, a pair of almond shaped eyes flashed through her mind. It was the eyes that belonged to the man that she kissed in the street - Hong Jong Hyun. Well... It was the eyes that belonged to a face like his, but it wasn't quite the same. Something was different but she couldn't put a finger on it. And then just like a flash of lightning, the vision disappeared, and she was back in the antique store with Ji Mong.
"Little Queen, are you alright?" Ji Mong asked with a knowing smile.
"Yes. Did you... Why are you calling me Little Queen?"
"Ah yes... You look like someone I knew from a long time ago. I called her Little Queen, you see. I apologize!"
"That's fine... You don't have to apologize."
"Ha Jin! The car is here!" Mi Hi said as she popped her head inside the store. "Come on."
"I'll be right there!" Ha Jin said as she tried to get the ring off of her finger. It was now apparently stuck. 'That's weird! I could've have sworn that it was loose on me when I put it on,' she thought as she continued to pull on it.
Ji Mong put his hand on hers to stop her from hurting herself. "Little Queen, it's alright. You can have it. It's free."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't worry about it. Today is the last day for my shop. I am moving my store somewhere else that doesn't charge too much rent. Take it as my gift to my last Gangnam customer."
"Are you serious?" she asked, reluctant to accept such a valuable gift. She didn't believe about the magic of the item, but she did know that jade, no matter the size, can be worth a pretty penny.
"I'm always serious." He told her. 'It seems that the ring has finally found it's true owner.'
"Well, at least let me buy something else."
"You don't need to do that. I don't think that's a good idea. Mixing two different types of magic can be..."
"Oh, come on! Perhaps a little cash can help you with your move." She interrupted him with expectant eyes. The lamp from behind flashed red which went unnoticed by her but did not go unnoticed by Ji Mong.
"Alright. That would definitely help. What would you like to buy?" Ji Mong reluctantly said.
"How about the lamp? How much is it?"
"It's $120." He said as his lips slanted with to a strange grin.
"Alright. I'll have it." She said hurriedly.
"Are you sure?" Ji Mong asked one more time, hoping to hear a different answer from her. "Mixing magi..." the lamp flashed again.
"Yes! Yes... Go ahead. Pack it up." Ha Jin stated with finality and completely ignoring what Ji Mong wanted to say.
Ji Mong took the lamp with a resigned sigh and started packing it softly. Such a special item should be handled with care. She gave him $150 and said: "Keep the change, Ji Mong! And good luck on your move."
"Thank you, Little Queen! By the way, for this lamp to work, you will have to light this on the night of a blood moon and make a wish while the fire on the lamp flickers red."
"Red? Is there some sort of chemical in here that causes the fire to turn that color?"
"No chemicals. Just... Magic!" Ji Mong replied, putting emphasis on the last word.
"Riiight..." Ha Jin laughed as she rolled her eyes and opened the door.
"One more thing!" Ji Mong yelled out.
"Yes?" she asked expectantly.
"The next blood moon... is tonight." He said with a meaningful smile. "Good luck!"
The door closed and Ji Mong was alone once again.
"Tsk... Tsk... Tsk... She is gonna be in for one hell of a ride."
---
Go Ha Jin stood in front of her bathroom sink as she put her heavily soap lathered left hand under the water and pulled. She had been trying to get the jade ring off of her left index finger for the past hour but with no success. She even tried rubbing olive oil on her finger hoping that the ring would just slip out but nothing. It wasn't tight on her nor was it cutting off her circulation, but she still wanted it off.
"Ha Jin, how is it going? Did you get it off yet?" Mi Hi asked as she stepped into the bathroom.
"Nope. It's still on." She gave up trying when she saw that her hands were starting to wrinkle under the water. After washing the soap off, she wiped her hands with a towel and walked to the kitchen. Her right ankle was feeling better after a few hours of rest.
"Maybe your hands are just swollen right now. Why don't you relax, have a glass of wine, and just try again tomorrow?" Mi Hi suggested as she poured her a glass of red wine. "Here you go."
She took the filled wine glass from Mi Hi and took a sip. "Ah, that feels good! Thank you! So, what am I having for dinner?"
"I ordered jjajangmyeon for you a few minutes ago. It should be here in a few minutes. It's already paid for, so you just need to tip the driver." Mi Hi prepared her bag to leave for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for both of them. "Are you sure you'll be okay be yourself tonight? I can stay if you want me to."
"I'm sure. I'll be fine. My ankle is fine. I have wine. And food is on the way thanks to you, Unnie. Everything is perfect," she assured Mi Hi.
"Alright. I'm leaving. I'll be waiting for you downstairs by 7am tomorrow. I've already set your alarm for 6am. Do not snooze it!" Mi Hi zipped her bag and slid the strap on her shoulder.
"Okay." Ha Jin walked to the living room.
"Don't forget to leave your face bare. They will do your make up when we get to the venue." Mi Hi walked to the door.
"Okay." Ha Jin plopped herself down on the sofa.
"Your housekeeper is coming tomorrow so make sure to leave your laundry out as well so she can do it. If you don't want to do the dishes, just leave them on the sink for her." Mi Hi turned to look at Ha Jin.
"Okay." Ha Jin rummaged the messy center table for the tv remote.
"Okay? Are you even listening to me?" Mi Hi asked in obvious displeasure.
"7am pick up. No make-up. Housekeeper." Ha Jin looked at her with a grin.
"Good! Are you sure you don't need anything else before I leave?"
"You should leave before it gets dark. I'll be fine here. Thank you!" Ha Jin replied and shifted her attention back to finding the remote control.
"Alrighty then. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the lamp you bought is right here." Mi Hi said as she took out the lamp from her tote.
"Lamp?" Ha Jin looked at her with furrowed brows.
"Yes. The one from the antique store. Where do you want it?" Mi Hi asked as she unwrapped the lamp from the paper that it was wrapped in.
"Umm... Just leave it there on the counter. I'll take a look at it later. Aha!" Ha Jin said victoriously as she finally found the remote.
Mi Hi did as instructed and headed back to the doorway and slipped on her shoes. "Be careful with that lamp. That is highly flammable. You don't want to burn down your house."
"Alright! I'll be careful! Bye!" Ha Jin waved her hand at Mi Hi.
"I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!" Mi Hi blew her a kiss and made sure to lock the door behind her.
Ha Jin shifted her attention to the tv which was now on and proceeded to flip the channels to find something interesting to watch. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to watch so she just kept flipping until she decided to settle on reruns of How I Met Your Mother. She was ten minutes into the show when the doorbell rang. It was her food. She promptly received the food delivery and gave the delivery boy a few singles as a tip.
She sat herself on a high stool by the kitchen counter as she slurped on the noodles happily. The tv was still playing behind her when the 6pm news advisory came in. She was finishing her noodles up when her ears picked up on the news about the blood moon that same night. It was evidently going to start close to midnight and, since there were no clouds in the sky, it was the perfect time to view it.
She swallowed up the remainder of her food and her eyes fell on the kerosene lamp to her right. "No. It can't be true. Could it?" She asked out loud as she remembered Ji Mong's words. 'Magic all over the universe heightens during a blood moon. And this lamp can grant you one wish each time it happens.'
"Oh my God! What is wrong with me? Am I really that crazy to believe a delusional man like that?" She laughed out loud at first and then her eyes found the jade ring on her finger and her smile faded. She remembered the eyes that she saw in her vision and shook her head in an attempt to push the thoughts aside.
"Nah! There is no way!" She said as she sat back on the sofa and watched the reruns again. Soon enough, her eyelids got heavier, and she fell asleep right in front of the tv.
She woke up hours later and it was close to midnight. The tv buzzed with excitement as the anchors and reporters talked of nothing but the blood moon which was apparently supposed to last for at least 80 minutes. She sat up from the sofa and looked at the lamp that was resting invitingly on the messy coffee table in front of her. There, beside it, was a box of matches.
'How? Well that's weird. I could've sworn that I left it on the kitchen counter. And where did those matches come from?' She thought as she decided that Mi Hi must have come back to play a prank on her.
"Mi Hi! Are you here?" She shouted. There was no answer. "This is some freaky stuff..." She lifted the lamp up from the table and examined it.
"Heh! What would I even wish for, anyway?" she said out loud. "It's not like I am in need of anything, really." She reasoned out. But then those eyes flashed in her mind again.
"I suppose there is no harm in trying..." she said as she walked towards the glass sliding doors that led to her balcony. "I mean... the worse that could happen is just... really nothing. It's most likely not gonna do anything." she said to convince herself of such.
She placed the lamp and matches gently on the floor and then opened the curtains wide open. She decided to leave the balcony doors closed because it was too chilly outside. She took the throw blanket and wrapped it around her person as she sat cross legged on the floor with the lamp in front of her.
"Alright. Here we go." She picked up the matches and lit the lamp. She put the matches back down beside it as she waited for the supposed red flash the Ji Mong talked about. She looked up at the moon and fell at awe when it slowly started to redden. "Wow! I've actually never seen this before. This is pretty awesome." She stayed like that for a while as she waited.
After thirty minutes of anticipation, her back started to hurt from her position so she decided that she has had enough. She started to get up when suddenly, the yellow flame of the lamp started to flicker. She stopped moving.
And then Red flickering started. She gasped and laughed at her supposed absurdity. "I wonder what chemical he put in here to make the flame like that." She said as she sat back into position. 'Magic,' she heard Ji Mong's voice in her mind and she laughed even more.
"Well, here goes nothing." She said as she rested her hands, palm up, on her spread knees. She didn't understand how she knew exactly what to do but she did it anyway. She then focused her gaze on the red flame and whispered her wish. She was so focused on the flame that she didn't notice that the jade ring on her hand started to glow too.
The red flame started to increase in size with each flicker. She couldn't take her eyes off of it even when the flickering increased in speed and the glowing ring on her finger increased in brightness. Suddenly, the bright light coming from the ring engulfed her body as the red flickering flame from the lamp exploded all around her.
Ha Jin's phone alarm started blaring not too far from her as she covered her ears and opened her eyes to the sight of a flameless lamp in front of her. She found herself on her living room floor and brows furrowed in confusion. "What the hell happened last night?"
She hurriedly got up to get ready for her day and left the lamp on the floor.
---
He Yu Ri finished folding Go Ha Jin's laundry and started to put them in her closet the way that Ha Jin liked it. Her boss liked her closet to be neatly organized by color and it was Yu Ri's job to make sure this was done. The reds went here, yellows there, black on the other side, and whites beside it. When she finished putting away the clothes, she proceeded to do the dishes and the she went on to vacuum the place. She didn't really need to vacuum too much since her boss had a Roomba that went around the house and did most of the job for her.
She got to the living room to clean up the mess on the coffee table. She turned around to see a kerosene lamp on the floor. She wondered what Ha Jin was doing with such an ancient thing but decided that it was none of her business. She picked up the lamp and was about to put it on the kitchen counter when her phone rang, and she got distracted. She put the lamp on one of the kitchen high stools instead and promptly forgot about it.
---
Go Ha Jin got through all of her appointments for the day and was finally laying back in the van with Kar Mi Hi and the driver. She turned to look at Mi Hi as the latter tattered away on the phone with the producer of the next commercial that Ha Jin was thinking about doing. Ha Jin sighed and looked back out the window when the van stopped at a red light beside a park which Ha Jin knew had some beautiful and secluded spots.
"Mi Hi, I'm getting off here. I want to walk around the park." She put her hand on the door handle.
"No, you are not! Do I need to remind you of what almost happened yesterday?" Mi Hi said quickly as she looked back at Ha Jin.
"I'll be fine. Look, no one will know its me." Ha Jin put on a hoodie jacket.
"I don't know... It seems sketchy."
"Don't worry. I know this park. And I don't feel like going home yet anyway." Ha Jin whined.
"Fine. But I am going with you." Mi Hi said as she opened the door and stepped out, leaving Ha Jin with no chance to refuse. "Here, wear this too!" She handed Ha Jin the white baseball cap that she wore to escape the crowd yesterday.
'Isn't this Hong Jong Hyun's cap?' Ha Jin thought with a smile as she took it from Mi Hi and put it on.
They walked for a few minutes and found a secluded spot facing the lake. Ha Jin laid down on the ground which earned her a scolding from her friend. After a few minutes of persuasion, Mi Hi sat beside her but refused to lay down.
"Mi Hi, I'm hungry." Ha Jin complained. "There's a tteokbokki vendor here on the south side. Let's go buy some."
"I'll go. It's better if you stay here and stay away from people. Gosh, I get palpitations every time I think about what could have happened to you yesterday."
"I'm fine, Mi Hi. I really am. Hong..." she stopped and cleared her throat. "That guy saved me." She continued.
Mi Hi looked at her suspiciously. "You're not here to meet him, are you?"
"Unnie, no! I really just want to relax a little bit." Ha Jin laughed at Mi Hi's absurd comment. Although, if she was really honest, she wished that she was here to meet with him.
"Do you want anything else side from tteokbokki? Like a salad, maybe?"
"Hmm... surprise me." Ha Jin told Mi Hi with a grin.
"Alright. I'll be back. Keep your phone with you and don't go anywhere."
"Okay, unnie!" she waved.
---
Ha Jin looked around the lake and saw a few people doing the same thing she was doing. Except that they weren't hiding from the crowd. They were just having fun and relaxing with their loved ones. She saw a bunch of kids playing around and smiled. One particular little girl caught her attention. She had a pink flowy dress on underneath a bright orange life vest. Her cute little pigtails bounced as she jumped up and down close to the water. She must have been excited about something she saw there.
Ha Jin must have been that age when she was last free to do anything she wanted without fear of a scandal. You see, she got famous at a very young age. Everything about her life was carefully planned out and she was growing tired of it. That was probably why she made that wish last night. She looked around the lake again to watch the other kids play when she heard a splash not far from her. Her head turned to the sound of the splash and saw that the little girl with the pig tails was now in the deep area of the lake and treading for her life.
Without a second thought, Ha Jin took off her cap and hoodie, and jumped into the water to save the kid. She swam and swam until she got to her. Fortunately, other people saw what happened and the girl's father hurriedly paddled a small boat to them. Ha Jin handed him the crying girl as he thanked her. He stretched out his hand to help her get on the boat when suddenly, Ha Jin felt a strong force grab at her from beneath the lake. It dragged her down to the bottom of the lake as she slowly lost consciousness.
---
Meanwhile, in Ha Jin's apartment, her high tech Roomba started its work. It collected dust from the living room, hallways, bedroom and the kitchen. I bumped into corners and turned each time, just as it was programmed to do. It bumped into a high stool and turned the other way.
*Crash*
---
Ha Jin opened her eyes and found herself underwater. She fought her way and finally found herself in the surface of a shallow pool. She heaved and coughed out loudly as she tried to regain her breathing. When her breathing calmed down, she looked up and confusion hit her. She wasn't back in the lake where she thought she almost drowned.
'Where am I?' she thought. 'And what in the world am I wearing?' She no longer had her plain white tee and tattered jeans on. Instead, she was wearing a pink hanbok which was drenched in water. She lifted her hands to her head to massage away the headache that she was starting to feel when her hands came in contact with her hair – her extra-long hair, that is. 'Huh? How did my hair get so long?'
She continued to look around and felt an intense gaze from behind her. She turned towards it and her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her lips. It was him – Hong Jong Hyun - shirtless in the pool with her. His eyes. His face. His lips. His rock hard six pack. It was him... But not quite him. There was something different. She cocked up an eyebrow as she found his eyes again.
"Hi," he said with a grin.
"Hi," she smiled back.
"Soo ya..."
"Hong Jong Hyunssi" they said in unison.
Both their foreheads furrowed in bewilderment.
"Soo ya?" She asked, confused,
"Hong Jong Hyun... ssi?" He asked, furious.