Joon ho woke up the next morning with one clear goal:
Food. Real. Actual. Food.
Not tiny bowls of air.
Not "sip delicately and starve."
Food.
He marched out of his chambers like a warrior going to battle.
The maids tried to stop him.
"Your Highness! Where are you going dressed like—like that?!"
Junseo looked down.
He was still in his sleeping clothes: white silk, loose and flowy. But compared to his suffocating royal robes, it felt like freedom.
"I'm going to the kitchen," he declared dramatically.
"To the WHERE?!" the maids screamed.
The Royal Kitchen was the most dangerous place a Crown Princess could enter without warning. Ministers avoided it. Servants whispered about it. Chefs panicked at the thought of failure because one wrong grain of salt could get them punished.
Which is why when Joon-ho burst through the doors, the entire staff dropped what they were holding.
Literally.
A pot rolled across the floor.
A butcher's knife fell and nearly hit someone's foot.
A pastry cook fainted onto a bag of flour.
All eyes widened at the intruder.
One chef squeaked, "Your Highness… has come to… the kitchen? Dressed… like that?"
Joon-ho smiled with the confidence of a man about to change history.
"Let's cook."
Half the staff fainted.
Joon-ho didn't' wait for permission. He grabbed ingredients like he was in a modern buffet.
"Rice, good… vegetables, good… oh, is that beef—? EXCELLENT!"
The chefs helplessly followed him like terrified ducklings.
"But, Your Highness, you mustn't—!"
"That is for the King's meal—!"
"That knife is extremely sharp—!"
Joon-ho was already chopping.
CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP—
The chef closest to him froze.
"Her… chopping skills are… incredible."
"She is terrifying," another whispered.
"She is my new hero," a young cook muttered.
Joon-ho worked like he was back in his modern kitchen.
Within minutes, a heavenly smell flooded the room—rich broth, sizzling beef, garlic, soy, the works.
Servants peered in.
Guards sniffed the air.
A cat wandered in from outside.
"Bring me bowls!" Joon-ho commanded.
"But it's not time for serving—"
"NOW!"
They ran.
He plated everything with surprising elegance for someone who ruined breakfast yesterday.
When he tasted it, his eyes widened.
"Oh my god… I still got it!"
One brave chef approached.
"Your Highness… may I ask the name of this… miracle?"
Joon-ho puffed his chest proudly.
"I call it Spicy Royal Comfort Noodles."
The chefs gasped.
"That name is so long…"
"But so beautiful…"
"I'm crying," whispered the pastry boy.
Just then:
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The sound of authority.
The Crown Prince entered the kitchen — the one person Joon-ho DID NOT want to see right now.
Everyone dropped to their knees.
Everyone except Joon-ho, who was still holding a bowl of noodles.
The prince stared.
"Why is the Crown Princess holding… a pot?"
Joon-ho held up the bowl innocently.
"Breakfast?"
Silence.
The prince walked toward him slowly, eyes narrowing.
"Are you aware that the royal kitchen is restricted?"
"Yes," Joon-ho said.
"And yet you are cooking?"
"Yes."
"And wearing sleeping clothes while doing so?"
"Yes."
A vein popped on the prince's forehead.
Joon-ho added, "Want some?"
The prince hesitated.
The kitchen staff held their breath.
And then—
He took the bowl.
He tasted the noodles.
A long moment passed.
Everyone waited for the verdict.
Finally, the prince lowered the bowl and said:
"…This is dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Joon-ho panicked.
"Is it too salty? Too spicy? Did I poison royalty by accident?!"
"No," the prince said slowly.
"It is dangerous because it tastes better than anything the royal chefs have ever made."
The chefs looked like they had been stabbed with compliments.
Joon-ho blinked.
"So… good dangerous?"
"Yes," the prince said.
"Dangerously good."
After that, the entire kitchen exploded into chaos.
Chefs begged Joon-ho to teach them.
Maids ran around collecting ingredients.
Guards lined up secretly to smell the food.
Servants whispered, "The Crown Princess… is a cooking goddess."
Joon-ho laughed despite himself.
For the first time since arriving in this strange world, he felt like himself again.
But deep inside, he didn't notice the Crown Prince watching him carefully… thoughtfully… suspiciously.
Because a princess who cooked like a modern chef?
A princess who acted like no woman in Joseon?
A princess whose eyes sometimes sparkled with a different soul?
To him, she was the biggest mystery in the palace.
And mysteries… were dangerous.