Disclaimer: Seung Jo is not mine. Playful Kiss is not mine. It's all not mine, okay? Deal with it! I have.
A/N: Well, I figured out a solution to the homework problem. I stayed home sick. Terrible, I know, but I did not feel like going. Plus I stayed up too late last night. So yeah. Anyway, on with the story!
Episode 4: The Dream
Well, tonight was a fiasco if I'd ever known one. I lie on my bed, staring at the cieling. Grabbing one of my pillows, I stuff it behind my head and sigh. Mother, father, and Eun Jo still aren't home. It's already ten o'clock. Where could they be? I decide that I really don't care all that much, and get up to get ready for bed. I walk over to my closet pull down an old t-shirt and a pair of sweats. It's one of my favorite t-shirts. I remember using it as a sleep shirt when I was Eun Jo's age. The material is soft and worn, and just how I like it.
I slip my day clothes off and slide into the pajamas. I decide that since Ha Ni is in her room, I can finally go back downstairs for that snack I wanted. I crack open the door and peer across the hall to her door. It's shut tight, and I don't hear any movement behind it. Did she go to sleep already? I pad my way to the stairs after shutting my door, and start to make my way down.
When I get to the kitchen, I grab some bread off the counter while looking around to survey the damage. It's bad. I can tell Ha Ni tried to clean up, and the dishes are done, but that stove still looks horrible. I sigh. Can't she do anything right? I finish my bread and grab a sponge from under the sink. Filling a bowl with hot, soapy water, I dip the sponge in it and get to work. Mother does enough. I don't want her coming home to this.
After cleaning up the kitchen and going back to my room, I collapse on the bed after turning off the light. I'm done for the day. My eyes start to flutter closed as I feel a breeze pick up and blow over my face. My eyes open wide again. Breeze? Did I leave the window open? I look towards it. Sure enough, the window is wide open, although I don't remember opening it tonight. I brush the feeling aside, and decide that mother must have opened it earlier today, and I just didn't notice till now. With that thought, my mind starts to go fuzzy, and I curl up and pull the blanket over me. It's time for sleep.
Where am I? A castle? I look around me and see that I'm surrounded by cold, gray stone. I seem to be in some sort of throne room, and I look around for the throne. I see guards and a long carpet in front of me before I realize that I must be sitting on the throne. I'm confused. I turn to a guard on my right. "Excuse me," I ask quietly, so as not to disturb the quiet around me. The guard leans in, gesturing for me to continue. "Who-" I pause. "Who am I?" I ask him.
The guard stares at me for a moment as if I've grown wings. He regains his composure, though, before responding. "Sire, you're the king," he tells me. My eyes go wide, and my mouth goes dry. I nod slowly, letting him know that I understand. I try to keep my wits about me, for it seems that I'm supposed to be the one in control. Before I can really compose myself, however, the doors to the throne room fly open with a bang.
In walks the most beautiful young woman I've ever seen. Just the sight of her makes my heart nearly pound right out of my ribcage, and I feel my hands and cheeks become hot. If anyone deserves an entrance like that, it would be her. The guards make no move to stop her as she parades down the carpet towards me, as if she's done this many times before. She stops in front of the throne. "Sire," she says, self-assurance evident in her voice. "I would like you to know that I have found my dress for tonight's ball. The royal dressers have laid it out in your chambers for you to approve, but I think it will be more than satisfactory." She stares at me, her eyes meeting mine in what I'm sure is not proper behavior of a lowly servant to a king. This makes me believe even more that she's probably someone important. She is, however, obviously awaiting an answer.
I shift in my chair. What do I say? I decide to play along. "I will inspect it when I get back to my room. Until then, you are dismissed." She nods curtly and spins around and sashays back down the hall. When the door shuts behind her, I turn to the same guard. "Where can I find the court physician?" I ask him quietly, so that he is the only one who can hear me.
"I can have him escorted to your room, sir," he tells me.
I think on it. Yes, that seems to be the best option. "Yes, please do so immediately. Oh, and one more thing," I tell him. He nods, a curious look on his face. "You mention this exchange with no one, do you understand?" The young man nods again as he walks away out a side entrance. I decide to use my position for a moment. "Guards!" I boom. Everyone turns. "I would like to be escorted to my room, now." For a moment, the men look confused, but quickly set up a party to lead the way. I follow.
Once in my room, I find a very old man sitting in an ornate chair by the window. As soon as he notices my presence, however, he stands up slowly. There's something familiar about his face. "Sire," he says as he gives me a short bow.
"You're the court physician?" I ask him to be sure. He nods gracefully. "In that case, you must listen to what I'm about to say, and you must repeat it to no one, and give me any information that I ask for. Do you understand?"
The man's eyebrow raises, and he nods again. "I understand," he says.
"Good," I say. I walk over to the chair opposite him, and gesture for him to sit down as well. He does. "I have lost my memory," I tell him concisely. "I have no recollection of who I am or who anyone else in this court is. Now, I have worked out that I am the king, and that people do what I say, but I have some questions. First of all, who am I?" To his credit, the man didn't look nearly as suprised as I would have thought.
"You, sire, are King Wong Soo Gu. You are thirty-five years old, and you enjoy hunting game in the nicer months." I nod, taking it all in.
"Second question, then," I say. "Who was the woman who came to the throne room just now? She said that her dress was in my chambers awaiting my approval."
The physician's face spreads into a small smile. "That would be the Lady Kim Shi Dong," he says happily.
"And what is the nature of my relationship with her?" I ask him curiously. I seem to want to know everything I possibly can about this woman.
"To the outside world," he begins, "she is merely a lady of the court. However, sir, if I may be so bold, you have confided in me in the past that she is the one who holds your heart."
I can't say I'm surprised. My heart was obviously straining to go to her and leave me behind when I saw her earlier. "And have I confessed to her yet?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, sir. You told me that were not yet ready." He looks like he's afraid of some form of retribution, but I am not focused on him any longer. What I am thinking of is something completely different. Why does this story seem so familiar? And why do I get the feeling that I never will confess? As I'm thinking these things, a melody pops into my head. It's simple and flowing, and it seems very familiar, although I don't remember ever having heard it.
Before I can say anything else to the old man, I find myself transported. I'm now in a large hall, nearly bursting with people in bright garments of red, blue, purple, and every other color. I don't seem to be dancing, though. I am holding someone's hand and leading them away from the dance floor. My eyes trail my arm all the way down to my fingertips, which rest underneath a gloved palm. My eyes once again trail that arm back to its owner, and what I find nearly takes my breath away. It's her. It is Lady Kim Shi Dong, the woman who holds my heart. The same heart as the one that seems to have made its way into my throat, blocking any words I wish to speak.
I realize that we are not headed towards the dance floor, but away from it. We move towards a small alcove, away from prying eyes. "Sire," I hear. That voice. I turn to my right to find her looking at me. Because I don't trust my own voice right now, I merely nod with my head towards the alcove as if this is nothing but routine. She understands and doesn't fight it.
After we reach the alcove, I step into it with her. If she's alarmed by the close quarters I've put us in, she doesn't show it. Anyone passing by would have a view that should not be available of a king and a lady, but that thought is far from the front of my mind. "Kim Shi Dong," I say after clearing my throat. I notice the informality of my speech. I don't correct it. "What are you doing to me?" I ask her.
The lady cocks her head to the side. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't believe I know what you're talking about." Regardless of my informal speech, she still addresses me royally. I expected as much.
I squeeze her hand gently after noticing that I am still holding it. "Why are you pulling on my heart like this?" I ask her. Her eyebrows creep up her forehead and her eyes go wide as my meaning dawns on her. "You seem to have captured my heart, and I can't contain it any longer."
"Sir," she whispers, a shiver in her voice. "I don't think it's quite appropriate to-" She can't seem to force out any more words with my lips pressed on hers. I've almost surprised myself, actually. Almost.
She stands frozen for a moment, rigid like one of my guards. I pull back for a moment to gauge her reaction. Her eyes are still open, and her posture is like stone. I drop her hand and instead place my hant at her waist while leaning towards her again. When our lips come in contact this time, she doesn't pull away, and I can feel the moment her eyes close because her body actually moves towards me by an infinitely small degree. I can tell this is new for her, and I use my hand on her waist to gently pull her closer. Her body is less rigid now, and her lips start to move against mine. I feel a warmth spread through me in that moment, and my tongue darts out of its own accord to swipe across her lower lip, begging for entrance. She gasps, suprised at my boldness, and I use that opportunity to-
My eyes burst open. I'm in my room on my bed. What just happened? Was that all a dream? I don't move, afraid that if I do, every shred of magic from the dream will be lost. Something must have woken me up, though. What was it? I'm pondering this when I hear someone in my room.
"What's this?" says a voice. "He only reads the original editions?" I slyly cast my eyes down to the foot of my bed where I see none other than, of course, Oh Ha Ni. What is she doing in my room? And what is she talking about? She looks down at something and shakes her head. Trying to be sneaky, she stands up slowly, on her way out of my room. But wait. That voice that she used. That soft whisper. Where have I heard that before? Not in my waking hours, surely. It was more recent than that. I think hard for a moment.
"Sir, I don't think it's quite appropriate to-" No. It couldn't be! The woman in my dream. It was the same voice as the one that had just graced my ears.
While Oh Ha Ni is turned around, I silently sit up in my bed. I have to know. Before she can make her way too far from my bed, I reach out and grab her wrist. Her gasp seems too familiar, as if that was part of my dream as well. It sends a shiver down my spine to know that it was. Her eyes widen when she sees me awake. Those wide eyes. That voice. That gasp. The realization hits me like a freight train. Oh Ha Ni was the woman in my dream.
A/N: Hello lovely readers! Guess what. This one kind of got away from me. I started out with the best intentions to solely write the bed scene, but guess what. I got wrapped up in Seung Jo's dream. Don't worry, though! You will get your highly-anticipated scene! In the next chapter. Aren't I evil? :) Oh, and ten points to anyone who can tell me the connection between Seung Jo's dream and chapter 24! AND you have to include how the connection is different from chapter 24. If that makes any sense. If not, you'll understand when you read the next chapter. Promise! I love you all, and don't forget to review!