Two hours later, after working their way through an impressive number of soju bottles, Tae-eul felt like she was hanging out with her old friend again.

"I can't believe they don't have half-and-half here!" she moaned as she studied the menu. "How can a kingdom be so advanced, yet have no appreciation of fried chicken?"

Hyeon-min smiled, swaying slightly. He'd drunk almost four times as much as her in the short space of time. She could tell it was his way of blowing off steam after a tense week, but she was beginning to wonder how he'd make it home.

"You'll have to ask the King," he responded tipsily.

"Oh, I plan to!" she assured him.

"Who should we toast to next?" Hyeon-min wondered, holding up his glass. They'd already made a dozen toasts to Luna's quick recovery, so she supposed it was time for something new.

"To the King?" she suggested.

"Pff, I don't he needs it." Hyeon-min held up his fingers and started listing. "He's rich, powerful, good looking, and surrounded by gorgeous women. What more could he want?"

Tael-eul groaned and lay her head on her arms. "Not you, too!"

"What?" Hyeon-min prompted.

"Do you also think Go Jae Hwa is a catch?" she asked into the table.

"The heiress?" Of course he knew who she was. "Well, she's not really my type. But I can see the appeal." Tael-eul groaned again.

"By the way, who are you meeting with later?"

Tae-eul raised her head. She was one drink away from blurting out the truth and had to bite her tongue. Her dream of finding Lee Gon was seeming less realistic by the hour.

"What's with that look?" Hyeon-min teased her. "Is it perhaps a boy you like?"

"Kind of," Tae-eul admitted, studying her glass. "It's complicated…"

"What's so complicated? Is he not a fan of fried chicken?"

"No, it's not that." The topic was sobering her up. "It's just I don't know how to get in touch with him. There's a place I think he visits, but I'm not sure when he'll next show up there."

"Geez, I hope you left a note."

She looked at him in dismay. "Ah, no… I didn't."

"How is he supposed to find you then?" Hyeon-min pointed out. Coming from one so drunk, it made a surprising amount of sense. Tae-eul kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier.

"You're right! It's the simplest way!" It felt like there was no time to waste. She jumped up and started putting on her jacket.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to leave a note!"

"Now?" Hyeon-min asked with disappointment, "But you haven't shown me what an MSD is yet..."

"Next time - I promise." She turned to leave, but Hyeon-min called after her.

"Wait!" He threw down some money on the table and scrambled to catch up. "Do you even know where you're going? You said you're not from around here."

"Good point. I could use some help... Where can I find a taxi?"

He pointed in the direction of a busy road. "That way."

She started walking with Hyeon-min trailing close behind.

They passed through a shopping area of sorts. It was lined with small stalls and arcade games. The bright colours suddenly reminded her what day it was.

"Oh no!" she cursed herself. "I completely forgot! It's his birthday!"

"Whose birthday?" Hyeon-min asked, confused.

"The King's!"

"So?"

"So I haven't gotten a present yet!"

"For the King?" Hyeon-min tried to clarify, sounding lost.

"Come on!" Tae-eul had spotted a stall in the distance that looked promising. She dragged Hyeon-min over.

It was a shooting game, like the one Lee Gon had attempted in Seoul. One of the prizes was an enormous white teddy. She imagined marching it past Court Lady Noh and setting it down in the center of his expensively furnished office. "At least white goes with the decor," she thought cheerfully.

The vendor handed her a small rifle. "It's impossible to win these games," Hyeon-min muttered from the sidelines. She smiled to herself, remembering how Gon had said the same. She lined up the scope and fired a test shot at the target. It went wide by a couple of centimeters. She adjusted her grip to counteract the misalignment. The next shot hit its mark.

A few minutes later she was dragging an astonished Hyeon-min away from the stall with an enormous plush bear under her arm.

"What did I just witness?" he marvelled. "Howdidyoudothat?" His words slurred together.

"This is why half-and-half is so important," she sighed, waving down a taxi. "You wouldn't be anywhere near this drunk if you'd had some good food." She pushed him into the cab.

"Can you please take us to these coordinates?" she asked the driver, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and handing it to him. She'd spent a lot of time that morning catching up on frivolous gossip, but she'd at least made sure to write down the location of the bamboo forest.

"Coordinates? Who navigates by coordinates? Are you a spy?" Hyeon-min was proving more of a burden than she'd expected.

By the time they reached the location she'd provided, Hyeon-min had fallen silent. The bamboo forest looked dark and quiet. "Are you sure you want to get out here, miss?" The driver asked with concern. "It looks like the middle of nowhere." He was eyeing Hyeon-min suspiciously through the rear vision mirror, as though he didn't trust his intentions.

"Hey!" Hyeon-min exclaimed when he noticed. "Don't give me that look! If anyone shows up dead tomorrow, it'll be me! This woman's-"

Tae-eul elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up. The giant bear shielded this from the driver, who was still studying them skeptically.

"We'll be fine." Tae-eul assured him.

Hyeon-min protested as she dragged him through the forest. "Look, I know I promised to help you, but this is getting weird. Why are we here again?"

"I told you - to leave a note."

"Out here?" Hyeon-min looked around, squinting. "I can barely see where I'm going! I don't think there's a high chance he'll find it."

She marched on despite the complaints. They were nearing the location of the gateway, she could sense it.

"Ok, I made a joke back there, but I really hope you aren't planning to kill me. I've seen how you can handle a gun and I know you know taekwondo so I'm just putting it out there - I really want to live to see Luna again."

"Do you really think murderers lug around huge white teddy bears?" She retorted. "It's a bit too obvious, isn't it? Plus there was a witness back there who's bound to remember us, so I think you're safe."

As she said this, she noticed a rush of movement ahead. A group of shadowy figures was descending on them. Tae-eul felt a burst of adrenaline. She was getting flashbacks to the last time she'd been chased through Busan. They'd killed Lee Lim in this timeline, hadn't they? Surely he didn't have any followers left?

Bright lights appeared and she suddenly realised who was approaching. The King's guards.

Flashlights surrounded them. "Ok, I take it back," Hyeon-min whispered in horror beside her. She wondered if this would finally sober him up. "Please don't let them kill me."