Mirrors of the Past and the Rebellion of the Present
Jo Ri reclined on the plush sofa, indulging in its soft texture so unlike the rigid wooden furnishings of the palace as she continued to fiddle with the buttons of the magical device. De Lan joined her after finishing his arduous task with the final dish, and with a mix of curiosity and dominance, he snatched the remote from her. She tried to resist, but his sharp glare made her back down, watching in silence.
De Lan pressed a button, and their entire beings shuddered as if the earth were swaying beneath them. On the screen appeared a King and a Queen, seated in a majestic palace that mirrored De Lan's own down to the finest detail. They wore the very same royal Hanboks they were accustomed to in their own world!
A deafening silence fell over them as they watched their "life" displayed like a fairy tale before their eyes. From behind them came the mother's grumbling voice as she tidied the table with annoyance:
- Again? A historical drama? Isn't it enough that their father is always barging in wearing those strange outfits? One day he's a King, the next a knight, then a general! I'm sick of living in the past with him... it's as if we've never left those ancient centuries.
She spoke with indignation while gathering the lunch leftovers, before suddenly shouting at them:
- De Lan! Change this channel immediately! I'm sick of looking at those historical faces and clothes!
Faces Behind the Mist and a Stained Spectacle
De Lan switched the channel at his mother's command, revealing a man speaking solemnly behind an elegant desk.
- Don't change it,
The mother said, leaning back on the sofa with exhaustion.
- I want to hear about yesterday's incident; everyone was whispering about it today.
The news anchor's deep voice resonated as the screen began displaying heart-wrenching scenes: two bodies lying amidst desolate sandy thickets, the ground around them cruelly stained with blood. The anchor stated in a funereal tone:
- The bodies of a young man and woman have been discovered. It appears the perpetrator deliberately disfigured their facial features to completely conceal their identities. No one has come forward yet to report any missing persons, and the investigation is ongoing.
- What a tragic sight!
The mother murmured with sorrow, raising the volume.
- I don't know how any parent's heart could endure such news... losing children is an unhealable wound.
As the camera panned across the crime scene, it suddenly zoomed in on an object lying near one of the bodies, a pair of broken spectacles.
De Lan and Jo Ri's eyes met in a silence charged with a terror they hadn't experienced even on the battlefields. De Lan leaned in, whispering in her ear with a voice trembling for the first time:
- Aren't those... the same glasses from the photo?
With immense dread, Jo Ri pulled out her phone. With a shaking hand, she compared the Blood soaked glasses on the screen to those worn by the "other De Lan" in their happy photo. In instant, the color drained from her face, and a lethal horror replaced every other thought. They realized then that their "new life" might be built upon corpses that had yet to find anyone to mourn them.
Don't call me Princess
After half an hour of silent tension, Jo Ri was pacing back and forth across De Lan's room with agitated steps. He sat on his bed, drowned in deep thought, before finally exhaling in frustration:
- Could you please stop that pacing... Princess Jo Ri?
Jo Ri froze, her thoughts scattering the moment she heard her old title echoed in this cramped room. She asked in a peculiar tone:
- What did you say?
- I said stop moving... you're annoying me,
He replied coldly.
- No... I don't mean that. I mean what you said after.
He thought for a moment, then spoke with an uncharacteristic hesitation:
- Princess...
- Exactly! Why are you calling me by that name here?
She flared up in anger.
- Do you want them to discover we aren't their children? Do you want to destroy everything?
- Be quiet! Lower your voice before someone behind the door hears you,
He warned cautiously.
- Listen, you...
She said with blatant defiance.
- You?!
He repeated in disbelief. No one had ever dared address him with anything less than absolute reverence.
- Yes, 'You'! To me, you are a nobody now, just as you were a nobody in my life back there. Don't you dare call me by any title I don't want. Most importantly... stay as far away from me as possible. There is nothing connecting me to you in this world!
- Fine, fine... don't be angry.
He said, trying to calm the storm.
- I know I didn't consider your feelings back there, but the truth is, we are connected. We are still the only ones we have here.
- I told you, we are NOT connected!
She snapped firmly.
- You'd best not remind me of that cursed relationship. Otherwise, I will walk out of this room and out of any world you exist in and I will never return!
Ashes of the Past and the Stranger's Freedom
De Lan chose silence despite the volcano simmering in his chest. He wanted to explode, to tell her that he, too, couldn't stand being with her for another second. But the echo of his mother's voice outside was like a shackle holding his tongue. Realizing that reopening old wounds would only expose them, he tried to shift the subject, his voice dry:
- Fine... let's focus on what is more important right now.
He said this while staring at her stiff back as she glared at the door. Jo Ri froze, the word "important" ringing in her ears like a fresh insult. As if her feelings and the bitterness she endured held no significance! He hadn't even bothered to utter a sincere apology for the injustice he intended to impose on her for the rest of her life. She wanted to scream, to explode, but she realized words were futile; he was a man who didn't care or perhaps, a man who refused to feel.
She spoke in a thick, stifled voice, her throat tight with unshed tears:
- I'm going upstairs. Please, do not follow me, and do not speak to me. I have no interest in returning with you. Go back alone, and I will stay here. At least there, you have a 'prize' waiting for you (Mi Fa) should I not return with you.
- This isn't another world... it's the past. Don't you realize we are in the future?. De Lan replied, trying to regain his logic.
- I don't care where I am or what time it is!. She snapped, turning to him with blazing eyes.
- What matters is that I am not a prisoner in your palace, I am not at your mercy, and I am not a substitute for your lover! So go back to her and leave me be!"
- Do not speak of her that way!
De Lan barked, defending his wounded pride.
- And how would you like me to speak of Her Royal Highness Mi Fa... the future Queen of the land? She mocked with searing bitterness.
- I didn't... I didn't mean...
He stammered, paralyzed by a sudden inability to respond.
- I'm going up!
She said with finality, turning to leave and leaving behind a soul-crushing silence.
Threads of Affection and the Knot of Fate
Jo Ri opened the door and stepped out, finding her aunt sitting serenely, sewing De Lan's torn shirt while her eyes were fixed on the TV screen, which continued to broadcast news of the horrific crime. Without looking up, her aunt asked:
- Is it a new school play you two are practicing? Your shouting reached all the way here.
- Yes... it's a play,
Jo Ri replied in a low, hollow voice.
She was saved by the question of her aunt, who remained blissfully unaware of the fate of her son and her niece. The poor woman! How would her heart survive the anguish if she ever learned the truth of that murder? Jo Ri couldn't bring herself to speak, so she approached and asked softly:
- Would you like me to help you with the sewing?
- Yes, sweetheart... my eyes aren't what they used to be, and my vision is starting to fail me.
Jo Ri took the shirt and laid it in her lap, her fingers moving with a skill inherited from the years she spent living far away from De Lan and his palace. Thoughts swirled in her head, and tears threatened to spill, so she channeled all her energy into the needlework. Before the first tear could fall, she looked at her aunt and asked, her voice trembling with a sudden need for belonging:
- Do you truly love me, Auntie?
- What kind of question is that? I adore you!
The aunt replied with overwhelming tenderness.
- I still remember the moment you were born as if it were yesterday, you were the most beautiful infant my eyes had ever seen. You are so beautiful, Jo Ri.
She stroked Jo Ri's head affectionately, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and added with a proud smile:
- In fact, I decided long ago that I would make you the wife of my only son.
The Covenant of Freedom and the Lurking Shadow
Those words stunned her, but she gathered her courage to understand the reason behind her aunt's decision and asked:
- Wait... why have you changed your mind now?
Her aunt replied with a voice full of maturity and love:
- First, because you are far too young to plunge into the world of marriage and the burdens of responsibility. Second, because you have the absolute right to choose. It's better for you to mature and discern right from wrong; only then will you choose the best path with a confident heart and mind. Many opportunities will come your way, believe me, so do not bind yourself now. Listen to an aunt who has lived many more years than you. Even I, had I waited a bit longer, would have had better chances, and perhaps my husband would have at least finished his education and become a man of status by now.
Those words were like a lightning bolt of light; they made Jo Ri realize with certainty that she was in a world far more merciful than her own, and that her chance for a happy life began here. A sudden surge of joy washed over her, finally letting the tears well up in her eyes, soothing her weary soul. Then she heard her aunt whisper:
- Why are you crying? I know I've said things whose weight you might not grasp yet, but believe me, you will know their value in the future. Don't cry... you might think De Lan is worth your sacrifices, but the truth and I say this as his mother is no. He doesn't deserve you now; perhaps he will in the future.
She embraced her tenderly and added:
- If you desire to marry De Lan eight years from now, I won't stop you then. In fact, I'll be the first to encourage you, believe me.
Jo Ri wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and said with a smile full of beautiful defiance:
- No, Auntie... I will look for someone else. I will find someone who will truly love me in the future. I will never tie myself to that arrogant man!
She said it with a smile, looking into her aunt's eyes with a sorrowful glint, then turned only for the blood to freeze in her veins. De Lan was leaning against the doorframe, watching her in his mother's embrace with a terrifyingly dark gaze, a look that boded nothing but ill.
False Ownership and a Rebellious Freedom
De Lan abruptly left his post and lunged toward her. Before she could process what was happening, he seized her hand and dragged her out, right before his mother's stunned gaze appalled by his blunt, arrogant manner that had suddenly resurfaced. He hauled Jo Ri out of the house and down the stairs at a frantic pace. When he passed his aunt ascending the steps, he didn't even offer a greeting, continuing like a whirlwind until they were thrust onto the street. He didn't let go of Jo Ri's trembling hand, marching through alleys and roads until they reached a desolate park with nothing but a lonely swing set and some children's toys.
He stopped suddenly and spun her around to face him, breathing heavily as if his chest were suffocating him. He spoke in a voice dripping with rage:
- I don't care that I hate you, or that I cannot stand your presence, or even that I intended to imprison you and hide you from my sight... but the one truth you must grasp is that what is mine, stays mine alone!
Jo Ri wrenched her hand from his grasp with a strength he had never seen in her and screamed into his face with a bitterness that shook his very soul:
- Listen to me, you! I am not a 'thing' in your life, nor am I a piece of furniture you own. I am a human being whom life has granted a second chance to live with dignity, and I will never waste it by returning to a person who only seeks to humiliate me because he yearns for someone else!
She raised her hand toward him in a swift motion, making him think for a second she would strike him. Instead, she stopped mid-air, pointing her finger at him like an arrow as she growled:
I am not yours, nor do I belong to anyone in this universe... Here, I am FREE!
She spun away sharply, leaving him standing in a stunned silence, as she ran back to the house and to her room. There, she collapsed onto her bed, soaking her pillow with tears that were a blend of oppression... and liberation.