It was still night in the forest on the other side of the door. Tae-eul's first instinct was to check her watch, but then she realised how pointless that was. Time flowed differently in the In-Between. Her watch was probably hours out of sync.
Wind rustled through the leaves around her. Tae-eul felt oddly calm. If this was Lee Gon's world, she'd find a way to meet him.
She contemplated waiting by the gateway, but the air was cold and the chance of Gon appearing seemed low. "He's a king. He probably can't come here often," she thought. The idea of waiting for him in the In-Between was also out. Even if she only spent a day there, weeks could have passed by the time she emerged again.
"One step at a time," she reminded herself. Her first priority was shelter, and to find that she needed money.
Her trek to the nearest road was shorter than expected. The forest wasn't exactly central to Busan, but lights on the horizon assured her she was heading in the right direction.
Soon she was surrounded by buildings. A neon clock in the window of a convenience store allowed her to reset her watch. 9:00pm.
The next thing that caught her eye was a glossy magazine. She nearly shrieked with excitement. It was him! Gon's beautiful eyes gazed out at her from the cover. He was wearing a formal suit and looked more regal than ever. "The King's birthday plans", the caption read. "Who will make the guest list for the Grand Ball?"
It was the first evidence she'd seen in months that Lee Gon was alive and well. She checked the date at the top. 20th March 2021. It was the same date it had been in her world. She'd arrived at the right time. She felt a rush of relief.
"It's his birthday soon?" she wondered, staring longingly at the image. She wished she could buy a copy and read the whole article, but she needed money first.
Reluctantly tearing herself away from the photo, she went into the store to get directions to the nearest pawnbroker. The young woman behind the till pulled up a map on her phone.
The place was luckily only a few blocks away and easy enough to find. She thanked capitalism that stores like this stayed open late into the night, though she felt somewhat awkward going into one with a pocket full of gold.
She didn't have a police badge to flash this time, and the gruff broker didn't look particularly open to bartering. She supposed that was fair considering the circumstances. She had no id card, no address, and no way of proving the items weren't stolen.
The man gave her a small pile of notes in exchange for the jewellery. The only item she kept was the necklace from Lee Gon. For a long time it had been the only proof of his existence, and she couldn't bear to part with it.
The storekeeper eyed the necklace greedily. "I'll give you 300,000 more for that," he said pointing. Her hand shot up reflexively to shield it from sight.
"No, it's not for sale," she told him firmly. She picked up the notes and marvelled at the image on the front. The King! She restrained herself from staring for too long, because the broker was still watching. She had enough money to survive for a while. She would have to make do.
Most of her adrenaline had worn off by the time she found a hotel. The desk clerk shifted uncomfortably when she told him she'd lost her id. "I hope it won't be a problem," she improvised quickly, sliding a few notes towards him. His smile quickly returned, and he soon handed her a room key.
She wasn't feeling sleepy, but she knew that she'd crash at some point if she didn't try to get some rest. "I'll find a way to contact Gon tomorrow," she told herself as she lay in bed.
The events of the evening spun in her mind and she was sure that sleep would be impossible. Her body clearly thought otherwise. It had been a long day, and she eventually drifted off with one hand wrapped tightly around the wooden flute, and the other curled protectively over a glossy image of Lee Gon.