Heavy footsteps approached her. She straggled to sit up, seemingly nonchalant, not wanting to show weakness in front of the man that had the face of her childhood best friend and that of the dense Captain of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Korea.
She wondered for a second how Yeong was handling her disappearance. She knew her King would be a little more than devastated, but she had yet to think of the man she had found an unusual comradery with recently. How would Yeong cope? He would move mountains for his King but would he do the same for her? Yes he would, Yeong was nothing without his loyalty.
"Are we done yet?" She said bitterly resting her head back on the wall and bringing one knee to her chest casually resting her elbow on it. "I have to go home now. My father will be worried I was missing for so long."
Not really, he probably wouldn't even notice her absence just like all these other times she had left. He would be positively oblivious of her absence up until the point the police squad knocked down the front door and demanded from him to tell them her whereabouts.
"You intrigue me, Miss Jung," the voice of the very man she was thinking about echoed in her ears. She smiled bitterly. "You seem to contradict yourself; one moment you tell me there's not a single member of your family we could find, ant then you tell us you must go back to your father? Pick one; either you have a family or you don't."
"I do have a family. That doesn't mean you're ever going to find them here. You can turn your world upside down and you wouldn't find any of them living here." She said almost bored.
"Ah, Yes. The parallel worlds theory," his tone was mocking but she didn't mind. "How's that fantasy going for you? Any news from your friends there? Did they send secret signals? Should we be bracing ourselves for an attack? Should we be looking for traps and conspiracies?"
Tae Eul chuckled.
"They will come for me," she repeated religiously. "By now my King probably knows what's going on and I'm quite sure he's going to put together a plan none of us can predict. You see Captain, you and I are the same, we're soldiers following orders and occasionally figuring out how to protect people we are responsible for or question the suspects of a crime. But our King is the brains between us. He's as smart as can be, so rest assured when he comes for me you won't even realize he was here until it's too late."
The captain remained silent for a few more seconds as if trying to consider what she was saying. Then he looked back at a person she couldn't see. It was dark again and the only thing she could tell from his silhouette was that he was tall. They seem to exchange a glance and the Captain nodded before turning back to Tae Eul.
"The King has agreed to see you," he said with a small cough. "I don't know why he would entertain the thought of listening to your ridiculous story, but it seems your wish to have a word with him has been granted."
"How generous," she mocked rolling her eyes. "Tell me is he a drama queen here too? Did he retake a deep breath, strengthened his chest and used his 'I'm the one and only King of Korea' tone while he did it."
She chuckled at his astounded expression, she could tell he didn't expect her to mock his King.
"Hey, kid, be careful what you say if you don't want to lose your head," he warned.
"Kid? Aren't you a year younger than me? Show some respect to your Noona you little brat!" She shouted back. "Look at this disrespectful rascal! Tsk tsk!"
His brows furrowed, he inhaled a sharp breath as he glared down at her.
"Who are you? Who do you think you are to talk to me like this?" He growled through his teeth.
"Jeez, you're more dense in this world than Gon's Kingdom," She scoffed closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the wall. "I though that'd be practically impossible."
"You..." the Captain started again looking a bit riled up.
"You can go now," she dismissed him with a shooing gesture of her hand. "Wake me up when the Drama - I mean, when the King is here."
Yeong looked furious as he yelled the next words. "Do you have a death wish? I will make you beg for-"
"Aish, go away already, I'm trying to take a nap here," she complained.
A low chuckle came from the farthest part in the room. Tae Eul's eyes shot open instantly her teasing mode gone, replaced with something akin to turbulent relief. If she left a small gasp, she didn't notice, so engrossed she was in watching the silhouette in the farthest corner of the warehouse.
"You..." she whispered unable to utter another word.
His heavy footsteps echoed in the empty space, each step closer was painstakingly slow. She squinted her eyes trying to make out his features in the dark subconsciously raising to her feet and watching to step forward. He didn't really need to get any closer to the light for her to confirm her suspicion as she had already recognized the familiar sound of his throaty chuckle.
He stopped a few steps away, still far enough in the safety of the darkness. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she faced the man who had her lover's eyes. She felt as if a heavy weigh was lifted from her chest, as if the worries and fears of the seconds past were nothing but an ancient history, now that he was here.
One step closer and her face fell. Covered in darkness as he was, she was unable to see the gaping scar against his right eye. His unsmiling face was twisted in an unnatural smirk. What she found more terrifying than anything was his dead eyes. One glance in his empty brown orbs would be enough for her to know he wasn't Lee Gon. She had hoped beyond hope that he would find her before she had to come face to face with the Tyrant but as it turned out that was just wistful thinking.
"You really are something aren't you?" He commented looking only halfway amused. "It's not easy to rile up the Captain, trust me I have tried."
She didn't know what to respond to that so she remained silent, waiting for him to lead the conversation as she had no idea what to talk about with him. The man standing right in front of her was not the one she sought and she seemed to struggle with what to do with herself and him from then on.
"What? No bow?" He said raising an eyebrow, looking down at her through his thick eyelashes in that spoiled brat attitude she had loved to hate.
He watched her stare at him for a few moments, ignoring his rhetoric question. It wasn't only her that was staring, he was taking her appearance in too. Her eyes were glued on the huge scar on his face, she studied it for a few more moments. The cut seemed to be deep enough but not too deep to make him lose his eye or fracture his jaw, another thing she noticed was that it was old.
She sighted.
"You're not him," she mumbled disappointedly. "That scar is too old."
He narrowed his eyes at her seemingly confused by her statement but said nothing else. It was however his trusted bodyguard who stepped forward.
Tae Eul couldn't understand why her world had suddenly gone dark until she was face down on the floor. The back of Han Wu's hand has send her straight on the ground. She landed ungracefully but recovered quickly, getting off her knees and sitting back to immediately glare up at the captain, ready to retaliate at any given chance.
"Was that enough of a bow, Your Highness?" he asked looking at the tyrant pleased as if he's sane a great service to him.
The man with Lee Gon's face scoffed before talking. "Not really, but we have more pressing issues at the moment."
Jo Yeong nodded, that stupid smile still on his lips. Tae Eul promised herself she would wipe that stupid smirk off very soon and with the most violent way possible.
"You asked to see me," he said in a cold tone that did not belong to her beloved king. "Do you have anything to tell me or did you ask for me to simply stare at my face?"
Tae-Eul looked at him anticipating. The joke never came and it made her chuckle.
"You really aren't Gon," she concluded. "He would've said something about knowing he was handsome and tease me from not being able to look away."
She chuckled and he frowned. Seeing his scrutinizing eyes she forced herself to concentrate. This wasn't Gon and she shouldn't let her guard down around him.
"Why are you wasting my time?" He asked at last annoyed. "Tell me what you know about the Manpasikjeok while I'm being polite to you!"
This was him being polite? Oh okay then. Tae-Eul cleared her throat and leaned in forward to catch his eyes.
"Do you know anything about Einstein's theory?" She asked not believing that she was reciting everything he had told her when they first met. You know, back when she thought he was a lunatic.
"Which one?" He asked sternly.
The Detective took a deep breath.
"The one about Quantum Mechanics?" She asked doubtfully. "Oh, right. You might not be a mathematician in this world. Or even like physics. I didn't think of that!"
She facepalmed herself. What if he was a flat earth thinker like she was before Gon came into her world? How was she supposed to convince an entire tyrant of the existence of parallel worlds, when she didn't even fully understood how it happened, all that before he got bored and decided to chop her head off ? Any ideas? Anyone?
"I know about quantum physics, I am a mathematician and a scholar in general," he looked her up and down for a moment. "You don't. Seem like the type to be one though."
She rolled her eyes.
"I'm a detective," she said with a duh tone. "My job is to chase around the criminals in the city not sit behind a desk and solve complex math formulas."
"Then how do you know about Einstein's theory? The parallel universe theory or Manpasikjeok at all?" He wondered.
She hesitated for a second and his face transformed from poller to quietly raging.
"Ten second's time will be all I'll give you to start explaining," his voice was low and deep and he seemed to stir right into her soul. This was the first time Tae Eul had ever felt anything akin to fear when looking into her beloved King's familiar brown orbs. "You will tell me nothing but the truth, little intruder, or I'll kill you! Got it?"
Tae Eul sighted defeated. She had a feeling he would be able to tell if she lied and in all honesty she didn't think there was any point in lying. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"I know all about the goddamn flute, because you explained everything to me once, in another time, in another universe," her voice was a little above a whisper but he could hear her. "I laughed at you back then, as expected, and told you were a lunatic. Especially when you told me you were a King, that's when I was certain you were delusional."
She looked up at the tyrant who shared her lover's face, he looked to pay very close attention to her words. He didn't look at her like she was crazy or lying. He had his poker face on and Tae Eul knew that face very well, he was taking in the information unbiased and examining a possibility of its truth.
"I can say by the way you look at me that you don't thing I'm crazy or a liar," she said almost smugly.
His eyes hardened.
"And how could you possibly know that?" he inquired.
Her smile was bitter.
"Because I know you, I've been trying to memorize the expression on that handsome face of yours each time we met, not knowing when or if we'd meet again, I wanted to remember everything about you, which was one of the reasons I got to know you so well. I always paid attention," Tae Eul was giving too much and it was on purpose. The two worlds shared similarities and she night not trust this version of Gon too much but she could tell by his reactions what he was feeling or thinking. They'd always been in an incredible synch, even when they were two worlds apart.
"For two year, I've been stealing moments with you crossing worlds with you by my side. Exploring different universes and timelines. Reliving moments and fixing past mistakes. I don't know, maybe this is the Manpasikjeok's way of punishing us for crossing a line we didn't know existed. Maybe we should have stayed apart, each of us in the world they belong to. We shouldn't have defied the universe, perhaps it was its way of separating us to teach us a lesson about carelessly messing with the past of so many worlds."
She saw his perplexed look and reigned in herself.
"What I'm trying to say is we know each other very well," she said these words looking into his eyes.
The tyrant's eyes never left hers. They grew cold and hooded. His lips curled into a weird line of odd approval. He approached her, and kneeled in front of her. Tae Eul held his gaze, her heart beating fast as he neared her. Their eyes were leveled now, there was a certain aspect of fury dancing into his caramel orbs and she could feel the warmth of his breath caressing her lips, his body heat embracing hers due to their close proximity.
"I bet we were very close friends for you to know me so well," there was a certain way that he said the word 'friends'.
Tae Eul smiled bitterly and he of course caught that.
He tilted his head to the side, curiosity painted in his eyes so clearly, it was as if she could read the words written in bold letters on his forehead.
"Perhaps we were closer than friends," he said smiling as he knew that was the case indeed but wanting to play cat and mouse with her anyway. He pushed a strad of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear, getting so closed their noses almost touched each other. "We were weren't we?"
"I find it hard to believe that your Captain didn't report to you, Lee Gon and I were lovers," she whispered unable to speak louder as the close proximity discomforted her.
His whisper sent shivers down her spine, but not in the way Gon did. This one was different, more sinister, more dangerous. Her boyfriend was touch froward as well, but there was a familiarity and ease in the way he courted her, this man looked to be so much more careless about taking what he wanted without consideration for the other and the way his lips grazed her ear gave her an irksome vide of promise for sinful pleasures to come.
"he did," the tyrant whispered inches away from her lips. "So what say you about picking up where you two left off?"
She didn't have much room to move so she opted for the only choice she had to get away from him; she stood up. One look at the captain and she realized that was the wrong thing to do. Tae Eul didn't think twice, she stared down at the still kneeling king and spoke her words;
"Look, your Grace, or whatever they address you with in this world," her tone was stern but normal, Tae Eul wasn't known to be fazed easily so her voice remained at ease as well. "You may have the face of Lee Gon, but you are not my King, got it? Yes Gon and I are a couple but don't think for a second that this gives you some sort of right to be this close to me. Keep your hands where I can see them. Got it?"
To say that the tyrant was shocked would be the understatement of the century. He composed his facial features easy enough and stood back to his feet, towering over her with a murderous glint in his beautiful eyes.
"Do you want to die?" he threatened with ease.
Tae Eul smiled.
"I want to be clear with you," she said smugly but was rudely interrupted.
Something seemed to have snapped and the tyrant acted out. He pushed her against the wall towering over her and glaring daggers down at her seemingly fragile form.
"Listen here, girl," his tone was harsh, eyes spiteful. "I don't know how your precious King allowed you to talk back to him in such manner, but you are not in whatever fantasy you think you are, you are in front on your King and you will talk to me with respect. You are not allowed to stand higher than I allow you to you will not talk back to me and you will speak once spoken to, only."
She was about to spit an insult the he added. "One more word and I'll order your execution."
Tae Eul considered defying, but as a skillful detective she knew all too well that he was not talking bullshit, he meant every word.
The tyrant smirked satisfied when he was met with her silence.
"Now tell me what you know about the Manpasikjeok and I might consider letting you leave, after I'm done with you."
She watched him walk farther back and dismiss all the guards except the captain. The wrecked her head trying to remember every detail she had learned with Lee Gon about the flute in their countless hours of studying all the myths surrounding the powerful tool.
She spent the next half an hour trying to explain everything that they had learned. Gon had even gotten as far as establishing a secret circle of study groups dedicated on learning anything and everything they could know about the subject and he would share their findings in their brief time traveling through worlds on weekends. It felt strange talking about all these things to someone else other than him, but it wasn't like she had a choice or anything.
When she was done, silence followed.
Her eyes were concentrated on the tyrant that had been patiently listening so far. He was looking at the ground right now and it was hard for her to understand his reaction. Did he believe her, or did he not?
After what seemed like eternity he rose his head stared at her for a couple of seconds and turned to whisper something in his Captain's ear.
Tae Eul didn't like the sinister smile in the Captain's eyes when the King left the scene. He looked at her mockingly, or maybe pitifully? She couldn't really tell. She braced herself when the raven haired man she called fried in two other universes approached her with purposeful strides.
"What are you smiling at?" she spat at him rolling her eyes at his antics.
The man remained ever smug even when he removed the handcuffs.
"It looks like you caught the King's eye," he said still smiling at her sinfully. "Can't wait to see how this turns out."
Tae Eul didn't like the sound of it but she had no time to explain at that moment. She had more pressing issues to solve. Like, how she would get out of this mess.
*****
Two and a half hours later Tae Eul found herself in the King's bedroom.
She knew this room all too well as they had spent so many fateful nights there together. Yet it was completely different. She had been left alone and offered nice clothing by a nice lady whom the Captain had dismissed immediately.
"Don't try anything stupid. There are guards outside. Just wash yourself and wait for his Highness," he had instructed to which she had responded to a scoff.
It's been a good two hours since he'd left and she had managed to take a bath - after she made sure to lock the door of the massive bathroom - and get dressed into the thin fabric that was supposed to be a nightgown? It just looked so old fashioned, white and long and covered all the right placed but was too see-through to her displeasure, so she threw on her own clothes instead of wearing it. They might be dirty, but they covered everything essential.
She sat on the bed, tired both physically and emotionally from the day. She laid back on the bed and contemplated for one second to close her eyes.
She thought about Gon, about the captain and about her father. What could they be doing at this very moment? Are they thinking of me? Are they trying to find me? Or haven't they figure out she's missing yet?
She woke up with a start.
"Ouch!" she said as she hit her head against something.
Opening her eyes she saw it was actually the king, he had climbed up on the bed and was hovering inches above her form. She pushed herself on her elbows.
"Get off me," she commanded in a low threatening voice.
The tyrant looked at her in amused eyes, his entire demeanor seemed playful. But there was a very distinct playfulness in his eyes. It wan't like it was with Lee Gon. No, this glint in the tyrant's eyes was sinful and disturbing. Even his playfulness carried a dark aura.
"What if I don't get off?" he challenged in a whisper that landed a breath away from her lips.
Tae Eul acted on instinct, bringing her knee up and shoving him to the side quicker than the lightning that stoke outside. She stood tall on the edge of the bed, staring him down sternly as he looked up at her stunned and pissed.
"I'll make you, and you won't like it," she responded to his earlier question before turning away to cross the room. That was a mistake. In a matter of seconds he had her pinned against the nearest wall with no potential openings for her to block and get him off, this man knew what he was doing.
"Don't play games with me little intruder," his voice held authority and anger but his eyes couldn't withhold his amusement. "I'm not used to playing nice with my captives."
Tae Eul glared up at him.
"Why am I here?" she questioned. "I told you everything I know. You seem to believe me."
"I do believe you," he looked surprised at her statement but he confirmed it. Tae Eul realized he wasn't used to people knowing him so well.
"Then why am I still here?" she questioned again. "Why aren't you sending me off into my universe?"
The King said nothing for a moment and Tae Eul narrowed her eyes at him trying to figure the situation out herself since he didn't seem to be much of a talker, unlike Lee Gon who couldn't shut up to save his life.
"You don't have it, do you?" she realized with terror. "You don't have the flute."
The King leaned in staring intensely into her eyes with eery menace.
"Do you know why you're here, Tae Eul?" he questioned evading confirming her statement.
"Tell me the truth, of you don't have the flute how do you know they myth is truth?" it tool Tae Eul a second more to connect the dots and stare up at him with bewildered eyes. "Oh my god! You don't have it. You lost it on the night of the invasion didn't you. They took it-"
She jumped when his hand collided with the wall behind her, his palm landing only a few inches away from her face. She glared up at him for startling her in such a way.
"Do you ever shut up?" he seethed through greeted teeth. "No one is allowed to talk about that night, got it? No one! It's forbidden by law."
"That's against freedom of speech," Tae Eul protested.
To her dismay she was met with a mocking laughter.
"Oh, don't you know by now?" he mocked leveling their eyes and leaning in closer. "This isn't a democratic country, this is my country and I rule it as I please. My word is the fucking law and if I say it's forbidden to talk about it, yo don't talk about it got it?"
Tae Eul scoffed with disdain. "You really are a tyrant."
Instead of being insulter his face transformed into a terrifying smile that made his futures unrecognizable.
"You're finally beginning to understand," he mocked. "You're in my world now, little intruder, and you better do as I say or else-"
"Your Majesty!" The Captain of the Royal Guard bursted in and Tae-Eul was never as happy to see him in this world as she was in that very moment. His majesty however looked quite crossed with the interruption.
"Whatever it is I'm sure it can wait until morning, Han Wu," he growled refusing to step back even an inch, his eyes glued to hers, daring her to defy him. He didn't even acknowledged Han Wu's presence by sparing him a single look.
"I'm afraid it can't wait, Your Majesty," Han Wu insisted throwing a couple of closed files that read TOP SECRET on the cover, to the bed. The files looked almost empty, too big but also extra thin, though she had no doubt whatever it was inside she had no doubt was of upmost importance. A state secret.
That got his attention. The tyrant turned away to stare at his Captain through narrow eyes questioning his nerve. Han Wu, as if knowing his disposition, even without looking his way, bowed respectfully keeping his eyes on the ground. The tyrant simply sighted irritated and moved away from Tae-Eul to examine the files.
Jung Tae-Eus wasn't aware she was holding her breath until that very moment. She let it out and tried to regain her confidence, pushing away her doubtful worries. She looked around the room looking for anything she could use as a weapon. Escape wouldn't be easy without leverage. She originally thought she'd take the Tyrant as a hostage but that man was no joke. If Lee Gon was anywhere as strong and fast as him, he was simply going easy on her each time they trained together. That man was enormous, terrifying and much faster than her beloved King.
The detective itches closer to the bedside table hoping that she would go unnoticed by them. She was aware of them when she slowly grabbed the envelope opener from the small nightstand and slid it under her sleeve. It wasn't much of a weapon, especially not against these top level guns the Guard possessed but it was way better than nothing.
Han Wu looked up for a fraction of a second and their eyes met. Tae-Eul remained stone still. No emotions or nervous fidgeting was detected in her body language. That's why she was the best at what she did. People were rarely able to tell what she felt or thought. And she rarely felt nervous or scared enough to show so it worked perfectly for her. However, as her eyes met his unforgiving brown orbs she froze to her spot, wondering if the nasty look he gave her was because he caught her red handed.
He simply smiled and looked at his King under his thick eyelashes. Lee Kwon's back was turned to her but from how it went rigid she could tell whatever it was he was reading on the files was not something he expected. Funny how he and Lee Gon were miles away from being the same person, yet they had the same tells and habits. It was uncanny.
The King looked up to the Captain and he returned his stare. They remained silent or a few seconds before the King spoke again.
"Are you sure?" He questioned in a low voice.
Han Wu nodded, his expression serious once more. "One of my men lost his life providing this information. I'm sure, Your Majesty."
There was a few heartbeats of silence where the King studied the documents once more. The dynamic in the room had changed and she could clearly tell by the way the two men moved and talked. She was dying to ask what it was that was going on. But then again, what did it matter. It couldn't be anything concerning her, could it?
"Well, well, well," the King said turning around with a wide mischievous smirk plastered on his devilishly handsome face. "It appears we are in the presence of a Royalty."
His eyes fell on her again, examining her from head to toe, as if seeing her through different lens. He threw the files on the bed, this time without bothering to conceal them. She could see there were reports with pictures and stamps, national security issues spread across his blue satin sheets, carelessly. She didn't have time to examine them, she had to stay aware of her surroundings.
She had never felt so suffocated her entire life. Both the Captain's and the Tyrant's eyes were on her, watching her closely as if trying to reach her soul.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The King gave her a smile before theatrically bowing before her while saying:
"Welcome to the Kingdom of South Korea, Pyongyang Princess Ga Eul."
The what of who now?!