Chapter One
Rose’s POV
“You die! You die! You die!” Consort Sa screamed at me. I cursed Adrien for ever teaching her English.
The jealous bitch had me cornered at the edge of a cliff, a small sword pointed straight at me. I tried to dodge as she swung it wildly towards my face. My heart was pounding, but I refused to step back, not when one step meant certain death.
Then she grabbed one of the long swords from her guards. My stomach dropped. It was long enough to keep me at a distance, long enough to force me back. One step… and I was finished.
She began slashing again, more frantic now, more desperate. Right before I lost my footing, I caught sight of the king and his entourage rushing towards us, shouting, his voice cutting through everything.
Behind me, just beyond the cliff’s edge, something strange had formed, a small whirlwind, twisting violently in the air.
Consort Sa saw them. Panic flickered across her face. Her grip faltered, then she lunged. And I, like a complete idiot, took that one step back.
The step that sealed it. The ground vanished beneath me as I fell straight into the whirlwind. I heard the king scream my name-
And everything went black.
I jolted awake in my bed. Cold. Breathless.
Nigel was beside me, nudging me irritably. “You’re being noisy in your sleep,” he muttered.
I sat up, my chest heaving, eyes darting around the room. And now I wake up?!? It… it was a dream?
What felt like months, an entire life, reduced to nothing but a dream?
I let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through me. I wasn’t stuck there. I wasn’t in Joseon anymore. But the relief didn’t come alone.
There was something else. A quiet, aching sadness. Because somewhere in that dream… I had fallen for him. And the way he looked, running towards me, shouting, desperate… That didn’t feel like a dream
I lay back down eventually, exhaustion pulling me under again. This time, there were no dreams. No palace. No king. Just darkness. But the moment I woke the next morning, it all came rushing back. Not like a dream. Like memories. Clear. Vivid. Fresh. Every moment and feeling.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it, not while getting ready, not during breakfast, not even at work. I stood on the factory floor, managing the production line like I always did… but my mind was somewhere else entirely. Still stuck between two worlds.
I tried to remember the dream from the beginning…
I had woken up in the middle of a field somewhere and completely panicked. A farmer approached me, speaking in a language I didn’t understand. Later, I realised it was Korean. The old man and I couldn’t understand each other at all. We just gestured wildly with our hands, trying to make sense of things.
At first, I thought it was some kind of prank but the more I looked around, at the fields, the people, the way everything felt, I knew something wasn’t right.
The panic turned into something worse. Anguish. Confusion. Fear.
Had I been kidnapped?
The farmer eventually managed to indicate that if I worked, I could stay in a wooden cottage with the other farm workers. Food and shelter in exchange for labour.
I had no choice. I wasn’t used to manual labour at all, and that first night nearly killed me. Every muscle in my body ached. My plan had been to run away in the middle of the night… but I could barely stay awake, let alone escape.
The next morning was even worse. I was dragged off my flimsy mattress and thrown straight back into work. And don’t even get me started on the cleaning facilities, I nearly vomited every time I had to relieve myself.
Over the next few nights, I tried to run. Every time, I was caught. Eventually, the kind old farmer had enough and took me to the village headman who was just as confused as we were. Then to the magistrate. Same situation.
And finally… to the governor. The governor stared at me for a long time, clearly unsure what to do. When I had first arrived, I’d been wearing my work uniform, a polo shirt and trousers, and that’s exactly how the farmer had presented me to everyone along the way.
The governor muttered something to his staff, and soon after, the guards escorted me and the farmer to a cottage deep in the forest. It looked more like an outpost, basic and isolated.
Once the guards left, the farmer gestured that we were to stay there until they returned for us. I didn’t understand why I was there - why this time, this place. I couldn’t speak the language, and I looked nothing like them. I wasn’t Korean… or Joseon… if that was even a word.
The farmer would sometimes wander into the forest, pointing out things, what I could eat, what I couldn’t. After a while, I stopped following him. I stayed in the cottage instead, hoping and praying this was some kind of dream.
I pinched myself. Slapped myself. Even punched myself.
Nothing.
I even ran straight into a tree once. Still nothing.
I was sitting in the cottage, lost in my thoughts, when I heard hooves outside. Then voices. One of them was the farmer’s.
The door opened, and I quickly sat up straight. The farmer entered first. I stood up and bowed automatically. Then a guard stepped in but he was dressed differently, in finer clothes than any of the others I’d seen.
And behind him…
Someone familiar…Taylor Tring?
What was he doing here?
Taylor Tring - the heir to one of South Korea’s most powerful mafia families. The last I’d read, he was meant to marry the daughter of a Yakuza boss to strengthen ties.
“Taylor Tring?” I said, and his eyes ran over me, head to toe. I stepped closer, confused. “Were you brought here too, Taylor Tring?”
The guard immediately stepped in front of him and shoved me to the ground, barking something I didn’t understand. The farmer dropped to his knees, bowing deeply, saying something urgently. He motioned for me to do the same.
I hesitated. I bowed to no one but everyone here seemed to bow constantly.
So… when in Rome.
I knelt.
Taylor said something calmly to the guard, and he stepped back. Then Taylor moved towards me and held out his hand, helping me to my feet. The farmer stood as well.
“Taylor?” I said again.
He looked at me, confused… but he smiled anyway.
I smiled back. God… he was handsome. Even dressed like this, not in his usual black suits, but in flowing robe, Taylor said something to the guard and the farmer. They both nodded immediately.
Not long after, the farmer and I were walking behind them while they rode ahead on horses.
I’d been trying to teach the farmer some English words along the way, but he couldn’t have been less interested. At one point, I pointed at the horse and said, “Horse.”
He tried repeating it. It came out sounding more like whore. I gave up, giggling to myself. Taylor must have noticed because I felt his gaze flick back. I quickly lowered my head again and continued walking behind the farmer.
As we approached the town, I recognised the governor’s office we had been to earlier. Everyone we passed bowed to the two men on horseback. I had no idea why.
So, naturally, I waved at them like royalty. A little Queen’s wave. “Thank you for your service,” I muttered under my breath. They just stared at me like I was an idiot. Which… fair enough. I probably was.
If I had actually travelled back in time, I had a strong feeling I wasn’t going to last long. At some point, someone would decide I was possessed or a devil or something equally ridiculous and that would be it for me. Or I’d die from some random disease. Dysentery. Cholera. Like in Oregon Trail.
And honestly? I’d probably die just from the lack of proper plumbing. I’d lived in a city my whole life. I was used to flushing toilets and running water. This whole “go to the well and carry water back” situation? Absolute waste of time.
We didn’t stop at the governor’s office this time. Instead, we were taken slightly outside the town to a large, grand house. The governor was already waiting outside to greet Taylor and his guard.
More bowing.
When the governor saw me, his expression shifted, confusion, curiosity. More conversation followed, and before I knew it, I was being escorted into a room with the farmer. It looked like some kind of home office.
The farmer gestured for me to stay put before leaving with the others. I sat on the floor at first, tucked into a corner. Then boredom kicked in. I got up and started looking around the room, scanning the papers.
Anything in English? Nope.
I heard faint music somewhere in the distance and wandered around a bit more. I tried one of the doors, slid it open slightly. Locked from the outside.
I sighed and dropped back down onto the floor.
Footsteps approached. The door slid open. Taylor, the governor, and the farmer stepped inside.
Taylor smiled.
I smiled back.
The governor started speaking sharply, definitely scolding me based on the tone. The farmer quickly gestured for me to bow. So I did.
But I rolled my eyes while I was at it. Taylor noticed. He found it funny.
He said something to the governor, who moved to his bookshelf and began searching through it. After a moment, he pulled out a sheet of paper and laid it on the table.
Taylor looked at it, then motioned for me to come closer. It was a map. He pointed to himself, then to Joseon on the map. Then he pointed to me and made a circular motion, clearly asking where I was from.
I leaned in, studying it carefully. It wasn’t exactly labelled in a way I understood, so I took my time.
If Joseon was all the way on the right… then England had to be all the way on the left.
But how far left? I scanned for the gap between mainland Europe and the British Isles.
There. Found it. I pointed. All three of them reacted immediately, shock, disbelief.
Taylor pointed to me again, then back to the spot on the map, asking silently if I was from there. I nodded. The governor gasped and launched into a stream of words. Taylor, on the other hand, stayed quiet. Calm. Observing.
Then, just like that, it was decided. I would go with Taylor. The farmer would return home.
I bowed to the farmer several times, thanking him in English. He had no idea what I was saying, but I meant it.
I was then taken to another room, this one clearly a bedroom. And everywhere I went, people stared. At first, it didn’t bother me but after a while… it started to feel like I was on display. Like some kind of exhibit.
People kept passing by, peeking into the room just to look at me. Like I was something strange. Something caged.
Something… not quite human.
