The palace was buzzing that morning. Jo Yeong dodged past laden caterers and frantic event planners as he headed for the King's study. Passing one doorway he caught a glimpse of Myeong Seung-ah briefing a PR team and paused for a moment. She caught his eye and smiled. He gave her a quick nod and continued on his way.

Everyone was preparing for the Grand Ball. There was always a lot of media coverage around the event, but this year the hype seemed unprecedented.

The security team was already under a lot of pressure, but Court Lady Noh had added to the stress by impressing upon everyone that the night had to go flawlessly.

It didn't help that the one person who needed to show up for the event seemed wholly disinterested in doing so.

Late night excursions and truckloads of flowers; Jo Yeong couldn't blame the press for jumping to conclusions. He wished the King would exercise more restraint.

Yesterday Jo Yeong had been summoned to the study shortly before midnight. "I need another escort," Lee Gon had told him. Jo Yeong noticed dark circles under the King's eyes. He wondered how long His Majesty could keep going like this. Was she really worth it?

Seeing Jo Yeong's expression, Lee Gon responded, "I know you think it's hopeless, but I'm going to find her. I promised."

No wonder the reporters were having a field day. The King was clearly bewitched.

"It's your birthday tomorrow, Pyeha. Could it not wait a few days?"

Lee Gon shook his head. "Every night I get one door closer."

Jo Yeong doubted that logic. From what he'd heard there were thousands of doors in the universe. Probability-wise, His Majesty could search for decades and still never find the right one. Even if he did, there was no guarantee that Tae-eul would remember.

Jo Yeong studied the King's face. There were worry lines he hadn't noticed before. He wondered whether on some level His Majesty had already seen the futility of it all, and was simply continuing to search out of habit.

"Anyway," Lee Gon went on, "how will I be able to satisfy the public if I don't find them their Queen?" He attempted a smile, but seemed too weary to finish it. Jo Yeong wished he'd take better care of himself.

A special team had been assembled after the death of Lee Lim to cover the King's late night outings to the forest. It was made up of guards with the highest security clearance, who had been sworn to secrecy about the nature of his Majesty's visits. Jo Yeong doubted any of them really understood what was going on. They would escort the King to a particular location in the bamboo forest, then wait for him to return. In their minds it was probably another harmless rendezvous. Jo Yeong, on the other hand, had spent hundreds of nights worrying.

Last night had begun like any other. Despite Jo Yeong's disapproving stare, Lee Gon had insisted on an escort and led them into the forest. Jo Yeong checked his watch with a sigh as his Majesty strode out of sight. 12:30. He prepared himself for a long wait ahead. The King normally didn't return for a couple of hours.

This night was different, however. No more than 20 minutes had passed when Lee Gon burst back into view.

"Jo Yeong!" he called excitedly. "You won't believe it!"

Jo Yeong peeled away from the other guards and pulled the King aside. His Majesty was clutching something small in his hand. "Look!" he said, holding out the object. Jo Yeong pointed his flashlight at it. It was a plain black hair tie.

"Pyeha?" Jo Yeong questioned, not understanding its significance.

"I found it in the In-Between place," Lee Gon explained. "It was lying on the sand."

Jo Yeong studied the item, trying to figure out why His Majesty sounded so hopeful.

"It's a hair tie," Jo Yeong observed.

"Yes!" Lee Gon cheered him on.

"You don't wear hair ties," Jo Yeong continued.

"Exactly!" For a moment he couldn't follow the King's train of thought. Then he remembered the time he'd caught His Majesty wearing a hair tie around his wrist.

"You think it's hers?" Jo Yeong asked, incredulous.

"The simplest explanation is usually the best," Lee Gon smiled confidently.

Jo Yeong shook his head. "But what does it mean, Pyeha?"

Lee Gon sighed. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I'm certain it wasn't there yesterday. It has to mean something." He closed his hand around the hair tie as though it were a treasure. Jo Yeong could see sparks of light in His Majesty's eyes. He knew that look well.

"Court Lady Noh is not going to be happy," Jo Yeong thought to himself at the time, though there had been a silver lining to the discovery. The King ended his search early that night. The security team returned to the palace around 2:00am, and His Majesty had headed straight to bed.

Now it was the day of celebrations. Jo Yeong knocked on the door to the study and waited for the King's reply before he entered. He wondered what condition he'd find His Majesty in.

The sight that greeted him wasn't what he'd expected. Lee Gon was sitting in a cushy armchair reading a paperback version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. "Curiouser and curiouser," he read aloud as Jo Yeong approached.

"Pyeha," Jo Yeong responded, "you called for me?"

"Yes!" Lee Gon said energetically, "There's a lot to do! But first, look at this," he handed Jo Yeong the book. Jo Yeong glanced at His Majesty's face, and noticed he was looking remarkably well rested.

"I see that look! Don't worry, Jo Yeong, I haven't been reading all night. I managed to fit in some beauty sleep," Lee Gon grinned. Jo Yeong hadn't seen him this happy in months. He wondered what had brought about the sudden change.

"Is this about the hair tie?" Jo Yeong asked.

"In a way," Lee Gon replied. "Look! Tell me what you see."

Jo Yeong glanced down at the cover. It was tattered and worn. It wasn't the usual quality of the books found in the King's library, but he knew the story was one of His Majesty's favourites. He turned the novel over in his hands and studied the back, then opened the cover and flicked through. He stopped when he reached the copyright page. Printed in small letters was the city of publication. Seoul, the Republic of Korea.

"You got this on one of your excursions," Jo Yeong observed.

"I did," Lee Gon confirmed, growing more animated by the second. "I brought it back on a whim, once, but only remembered it last night."

Jo Yeong felt like he was being guided through a maze. He waited patiently for the explanation he knew was coming.

"There are a lot of similarities between the worlds," Lee Gon went on. "There are famous people that exist in multiple dimensions, as well as books," he said, gesturing towards the novel, "that are word for word the same in each place."

Lee Gon started pacing the length of the room. "I tried to imagine all the ways the hair tie could have ended up there," he said, jumping back to the original thread. "Did Tae-eul drop it in the past without me noticing? Did it fall from one of my pockets? Those theories all seemed so unlikely, but then - items like that don't just appear in the In-Between," he emphasised, "people have to bring them."

Lee Gon stopped pacing and turned to Jo Yeong. "How can that happen, if I'm the only one who holds the flute?" The room became very quiet.

Jo Yeong looked down at the copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and put the final pieces of the puzzle together. "You think there's more than one out there," Jo Yeong realised in a daze.

One side of Lee Gon's mouth quirked upwards. His eyes seemed unusually bright.

"Whether it's Tae-eul or someone else entirely… I don't think I'm alone."

The theory made Jo Yeong's head spin. Other travellers? Multiple flutes? The repercussions of that discovery would be enormous.

The King looked strangely calm as he walked back to his desk. "I've got a full day of appointments," he sighed in frustration, "so I can't look into this myself, but I have faith in my Unbreakable Sword." He glanced at Jo Yeong with a curious smile. "I'm going to need you to check a few things."