Chapter 1
The bright lights of Seoul had always felt like home to Jisoo🎀.
At twenty-three years old, she was one of South Korea's most popular travel vloggers. Her life was simple—pack a bag, pick a destination, turn on the camera, and share her adventures with the world🤍.
From quiet mountain villages to crowded city streets, she had traveled almost everywhere. Her viewers loved her cheerful personality and fearless nature.🏞️
But there was one thing Jisoo loved more than traveling.🌏
Mysteries.
And that was exactly why she was standing in front of an abandoned mansion on a cold autumn afternoon.
The mansion stood at the edge of a forest, far away from the city. Tall weeds covered the pathway leading to its entrance. The wooden gates were broken, and vines crawled across the ancient walls like giant green snakes.
Locals called it the Haunted Mansion of the Kim Dynasty.
According to old stories, the mansion had once belonged to a powerful royal family five hundred years ago. Some believed the spirits of its former residents still wandered its halls.
Nobody dared to enter.
Which, of course, made Jisoo even more interested.
She pointed her camera toward herself and smiled.
"Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another adventure. Today, we're exploring one of Korea's most mysterious abandoned places. People say this mansion is haunted, but let's find out if that's true."
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the creaking gate.
Craaaak...
The sound echoed through the silent grounds.
The moment she stepped inside, a strange chill ran down her spine.
The mansion looked as if time itself had abandoned it centuries ago.
Broken walls stood like the skeletons of forgotten memories.
Dust-covered furniture lay scattered across empty rooms.
Spider webs hung from cracked ceilings.
The wooden floors groaned beneath every step.
Sunlight slipped through shattered windows, painting long golden lines across the darkness.
Everything felt frozen.
Silent.
Lonely.
Yet strangely beautiful.
Jisoo slowly walked through the corridors while recording.
"Look at this place," she whispered to the camera. "It's incredible. It feels like I've stepped into another world."
She continued exploring for nearly an hour.
Then she found it.
A large courtyard hidden in the center of the mansion.
And in the middle of that courtyard was a pond.
Jisoo stopped walking.
The sight took her breath away.
Unlike the rest of the mansion, the pond looked untouched.
Its water was perfectly clear, reflecting the golden sky above.
Not a single leaf floated on its surface.
It looked almost...
Alive.
A gentle breeze rippled across the water.
For a brief moment, Jisoo felt as though the pond was watching her.
She laughed nervously.
"Okay, that's creepy."
Moving closer, she continued filming.
"Guys, this pond is surprisingly clean. It's like someone still takes care of it."
She stepped onto the stone edge surrounding the water.
Then it happened.
Her foot slipped.
The camera flew from her hand.
Her heart stopped.
"Wait—!"
Splash!
Ice-cold water swallowed her whole.
The world disappeared.
Darkness surrounded her.
She couldn't hear anything.
Couldn't see anything.
It felt as though she was falling deeper and deeper into an endless ocean.
Then suddenly—
Light.
Blinding light.
Jisoo's eyes snapped open.
She gasped and sat upright.
For several seconds, she couldn't understand what she was seeing.
The courtyard was still there.
The pond was still there.
But everything else had changed.
The broken walls were gone.
The ruined buildings had become grand wooden halls decorated with colorful silk banners.
The cracked stone paths looked brand new.
Lanterns hung from polished pillars.
Servants moved through the courtyard carrying trays and baskets.
Laughter echoed in the air.
The abandoned mansion had transformed into a magnificent royal residence.
Jisoo froze.
"...What?"
A group of young women rushed toward her.
They were wearing beautiful, colorful hanbok dresses.
Several men followed behind them.
One of the women knelt beside her.
"My lady, are you hurt?"
Jisoo stared at her.
"My... lady?"
The woman looked confused.
Jisoo quickly looked around.
Everyone was dressed in traditional clothing.
No phones.
No cameras.
No modern buildings.
Nothing.
Her breathing became uneven.
She looked down at herself.
She was still wearing her oversized T-shirt.
Blue denim jeans.
White sneakers.
Her soaked backpack lay beside her.
Everything about her looked completely out of place.
Like she didn't belong here.
Because she didn't.
A terrifying thought entered her mind.
"No..."
She slowly turned toward the pond.
Its surface was calm once again.
As if nothing had happened.
As if it had never dragged her into its depths.
As if it hadn't stolen five hundred years from the future.
Jisoo felt her blood run cold.
"Please tell me this is a prank..."
But deep inside, she already knew the truth.
She wasn't in modern Seoul anymore.
She had somehow traveled five hundred years into the past.
And the royal palace before her belonged to the legendary Kim Dynasty.
The very dynasty she had only read about in history books.
Now she was standing inside it.
Alone.
Lost.
And completely unaware that her arrival had already begun to change the fate the kingdom itself.✨📖👑🌙
