Chapter Text
Her breath hitches.
She opens her eyes.
Wait, where is she?
She find herself in a room that feels somewhat surreal, as if what’s happening is just a fragment of her imagination. Because how can this be real? How is it possible that she is here, lying down on this ridiculously massive somewhat extravagant bed?
Not only is the bed huge, it is entirely covered in gold and the room, let’s not even get started. The walls are of a deep maroon shade and there are many paintings all around the room, mostly of horses and fishes.
On top of that the one window in the room is open, giving her a wide glimpse of the outside world. The land is green and she can actually see horses galloping within a mere distance. And as she squints her eyes, adjusting to the brightness from the morning sun, she realizes that she can also hear the faint sound of water, possibly from a waterfall nearby.
But of course this is all new to her. Nothing seems familiar, and everything feels strange, which brings us to the question of just where on earth is she?
To make matters worse, as soon she feels some movement on the bed, she realizes she is not alone.
There is a stranger sleeping next to her and she contemplates whether or not to wake said stranger from his or is it her sleeping slumber.
Haerin couldn’t tell, with the way said stranger’s hair is covering his or her face, however he or she seems to be either a pretty boy or a handsome girl.
Said stranger is however dressed in very expensive silk, so there is no way he or she is just a mere commoner. But wait, why is she also dressed in expensive silk?
She looks at her own clothing and realizes that not only is her robe made of pure silk, the initials MJ is clearly written on the seams of the robe.
Who is MJ anyways?
“Baby, are you already awake?”
Said stranger says with a voice that sounded quite deep yet very much feminine, so much so that Haerin can’t help but be even more perplexed. So is she a girl? But wait, why is she calling her baby? Are they close?
The stranger stretches for a bit before sitting up completely, his or her eyes are still very much closed and lips forming a pout. Haerin thinks said stranger looks somewhat adorable, despite the hair still covering most of his or her face. Almost without any warning, said stranger is now pulling her into a hug.
“Thank you for saying yes.”
Haerin awkwardly hugs the stranger back. Not that it is normal to hug someone you don’t know but said stranger doesn’t seem to be harmful, much less dangerous, and for some strange reason, Haerin feels a familiar warmth when she is in said stranger’s arms.
She really can’t put it into words.
It feels as if she has known this person for the longest time now, almost as if she has returned home after a long while of being absent.
Ah, yes, it feels like home.
“I love you so much.”
She hears said stranger proclaims with a smile, breaking the hug to look at her with eyes now fully opened.
Said stranger finally moves the hair from his-wait her face and my god, is she beautiful. Yes, Haerin realizes that it is indeed a beautiful-scratch that, beautifully handsome girl.
She slowly takes in that high nose bridge, pouty lips, and big round eyes. Soon enough, she feels her breath hitch again.
What is this feeling?
Why does she feel so much emotions suddenly overwhelming her very being?
Is this perhaps love? But, wait, how did that word even come up? Never mind that, assuming that it is, is this possibly what falling in love feels like?
Maybe. She isn’t sure.
But it’s not like she’s given time to process. Said stranger likes to distract her with that deep succulent voice of hers.
“You’re so beautiful.”
Said stranger states, with her hands gently pulling her closer. Haerin lets her, because she is still so awestruck, and most of all, she doesn’t even feel like saying no. Something tells her to let loose and just trust this stranger no matter how insane that may sound.
Said stranger leans in close, her eyes focused on her lips. Haerin assumes they are going to kiss because there is no way this amount of tension she feels with this beautiful handsome being is platonic.
In that brief moment however, she thinks about all of the romance comedies she has watched and realizes that this is her moment. This is her fairytale kiss.
True enough, almost according to the progression of the cliché plot, said stranger kisses her then, so feverishly that Haerin feels as if she is floating on cloud nine.
Somehow or rather, kissing said stranger feels natural, feels right. It all feels strangely too familiar. As if they have done this before, many many times.
The way their lips fit, the way her hands instinctively finds its way around said stranger’s neck, pulling her closer. Euphoria overcomes her very being as said stranger lifts her to sit on her lap, hands now cupping her face.
Haerin finds herself responding back to the kiss with a sudden urgency. Okay, why is she rushing anyways? Why does it feel like she must rush?
The urgency she feels makes no sense but Haerin will not think about that now. It is weird to feel as though their time might come to end.
“Haerin, let’s get married.”
Haerin opens her eyes and realizes said stranger has now pulled away, breathing heavily in front of her, her face forming a smile. A smile so pretty it makes her heart flutter. She wishes time could stop now, and she makes it a point to memorize this expression on said stranger’s face and how it makes her feel.
Heavy breathing.
Heart racing.
Happy feeling.
Oh, this is love for sure.
“I, Kim Minji, promise to love, to protect and to care for you in sickness or health.”
Said stranger, sorry Minji says all of this with conviction visible in her eyes and Haerin merely lets her continue speaking because it doesn’t feel like anything she intends to say will ever measure up to Minji’s heavy words. How do you even reply to that sort of confession?
“I know for now, I can’t give you the life of a princess as you deserve but I will do my best to give you what I can.”
Princess? What sort of reality is this? Does she mean a real princess or is that just some sort of figurative speech?
“You will however be the future duchess of the Kim family estate and I assure you, once we get the throne back, I will spoil you so much, my Princess.”
Minji leans in to kiss her again and again, Haerin merely lets her. For goodness’s sake, what is this lack of self restraint, Haerin wonders. How is it that she is so easily succumbing to Minji like butter melting on a hot pan?
But honestly can you blame her?
If Haerin has a type, it is definitely the girl in front of her. That is precisely her type, from top to bottom.
Not only is Minji insanely good looking, this ethereal being is also very much in love with her as evidenced by her diabetic confession. As a matter of fact, this whole interaction feels like an episode out of some kind of period drama.
“Minji.”
She hears herself saying out loud, to which the girl in front of her merely smiles at before quickly letting out a deep frown.
“Baby, are you alright?”
“I-“
Before she can even finish her sentence, she suddenly finds herself violently spiraling into nowhere, her body being pushed and pulled into an abyss of blackness.
Her vision is clouded. Her mind is feverish and she feels like vomiting. The motion of it all was so fervent that by the time it all ended, Haerin finds herself in a somewhat futuristic yet abandoned looking lab. Not only is the lab sort of dark, there isn’t much light for her take in her surroundings.
She does note that there are papers scattered on the floor, specifically with the initials MJ scribbled on each page. There were several mechanical parts lying on the ground but she particularly finds one machine intriguing.
Oddly shaped like diamond, it radiates a weak light from within, drawing her unrequited attention for its slowly diminishing power.
She moves closer and realizes a stack of papers labelled “Attempt 155” next to it. She picks it up and opens the first page with anticipation.
“Day 155, I am trying my best, but it seems no matter what I do, I can’t seem to stay in that reality. What would it take to not come back to this reality?”
She takes in the awfully familiar handwriting and it is without a doubt, it belonged to her. Shocked yet confused, she flips to the next page and finds even more bewildering contents.
“Day 157, perhaps I should have been a more active participant? Perhaps then I would not have returned so quickly?”
As if all of this isn’t shocking enough, Haerin hears footsteps approaching and realizes someone is entering the lab. She thinks of taking cover but decides against it, letting her curiosity get the better of her.
She decides to stay rooted to the spot and turns to the direction of the sound. The owner of the footsteps seem to belong to a tall figure wearing a white cloak, sort of what a doctor would wear. Said tall figure is closer now and oddly enough approaches her with slow steps, caution evident in her steps, as if Haerin is some sort of trespasser. Which to be fair, she technically is.
As the visual of the tall figure becomes clearer by the second, Haerin drops the papers when she realizes who it was.
“Minji?”
“Baby, are you alright?”
Before she can respond, she feels herself spiraling again. Oh no. Only this time, she falls straight into pitch black unconsciousness.
This can’t be good.