Episode 2 - Home is where the heart's at.

Early in the morning, the sky was blue like a sapphire, the crimson sun came up eastbound as countless golden rays fell in the bedroom through the window and shone brilliantly on Baeksul's face like flames. Baeksul, restless as he was, tossed and turned and struggled to sleep, covered his face with a blanket to block the intrusive rays. However, to his dismay, the spring morning sun was no match for his blanket. Eventually, he gave up on the idea of falling back asleep and batted the sleep out of his eyes.

There was a light knock at the door.

"Hello!"

Baeksul, still rising from his slumber replied to the grandmotherly voice coming from the front door.

"Who is it?"

The old woman's knocking intensified.

"Hello? Is there anyone in there?"

Baeksul, still trying to wake up, stood up as he rubbed his heavy eyelids. He stumbled towards the front door of his home, promptly whipping the door open as the old woman before him was immediately startled.

"Oh my god! You scared me!"

"Who are you?" Baeksul asked, followed by a yawn.

"I'm looking for a man named Jang Baeksul, is he here?"

"That is me wh-"

Immediately, the old woman's face flushed red with rage as she unleashed her fury on his shoulder. Startled, Baeksul screamed, his response sudden and harsh.

"What do you think you are doing!"

"You stupid brat! Because of you, the demon never left. What kind of psychic medium are you!? You are nothing but a fraud!"

He stepped back, his expression a mixture of confusion and slight fright from her incoming encounter. After a moment of processing without success, he continued.

"Why are you cussing at me, Grandma?!"

"It is not Grandma, it is madame to you! This is not Chosun, this is Arang. Do not be so rude to me!"

Baeksul squinted at the elderly woman talking nonsense, finally answering after a long delayed sigh.

"Anyway, Korean is the same as Arangese! What is the fu-, what is the difference?"

The old woman snickered and stared at him with beady eyes.

"What did you say? The same?! Our language is a thousand times more beautiful than yours!"

"It is beautiful too.."

Baeksul said, back talking to the old woman.

With newfound rage, she took a fresh cabbage out of her handbag and hurled at him.

"You fucking prick!"

As the cabbage was flying, Baeksul managed to catch it with an open palm.

"Thanks for the Cabbage, Grandma! I will enjoy making Kimchi!"

Scorned, she gave him the middle finger.

Suddenly, a voice emerged and traveled to Baeksul's ears from the study. He turned his head towards the recognized voice of his father, his footsteps following close behind.

'Is my son bothering people again?' asked his father, patting him on the back.

"No, Father. Absolutely not!" he answered, the innocent act influencing his tone.

"Oh my God, we have only been living in this country for so long, and we are already outcasts."

With a big sigh, his father rested a tired hand on his son's shoulder.

"I don't understand at all why we're being ostracized. The Arangese are very weird."

His father cracked a small smile.

"It was because our country hurt them during the Unified Silla Dynasty"

"…"

After they both entered the study room together, his father, sitting down, cross-legged in front of him, told the history between the two empires.

"Mishil, the first Empress of the Arang Empire, planned to overthrow Queen Seondeok, which led to a bloody war that lasted for 10 years. Ten years later, the two defeated nations declared a truce to avoid further bloodshed, the treaty forcing the two empires to form two completely different governments, and they decided to make the Han River the boundary line. To maintain a completely separate culture, the government tried to change the language. But unfortunately, the Arang government is considered an extension of the Korean Empire rather than a separate country. Perhaps that's why the Arangese and Koreans have such deep-rooted resentment against each other thus far."

He took it upon himself to pour a cup of tea into the cup in Baeksul's hands.

"Maybe that is why they stare and cuss at me like bratty children."

His father chuckled, looking at him with light eyes, as he comforted his son.

"Do not be discouraged. Go to the school and study the language hard, and you will have friends soon enough."

Heading his father's words, he nodded and continued drinking tea.

"Yes, Father."

"Okay, go wash up and change. You need to go to the market today to buy some delicious meat."

"Are you cooking pork belly today?"

His father nodded in response as Baeksul, now in a hurry to stand up, changed his clothes in the bedroom, and promptly left for the market for his father.

The market was lively with activity, as large amounts of people were coming in and out to do their bidding. The smell of food from various restaurants made his mouth water. One restaurant sign, in particular, caught his eye while he was browsing, and he began to approach. As he got closer, his face brightened up as he read it. The sign was in Chinese characters, and they were selling Joseon-style bibimbap.

"Oh... it's bibimbap!" Baeksul exclaimed happily.

Baeksul entered the restaurant, sitting behind a table as he called for the owner of the restaurant.

"Hey, one bibimbap please."

"Coming right up!"

The wooden gate flew open instantly, a waitress balancing a tray of food outside the door bent down to present the tray, a stone pot containing bibimbap.

"Enjoy your meal."

"Oh, my lord, is this real Korean bibimbap?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm from Joseon."

He leaned over the table and whispered a question in the owner's ear.

"Oh …does my tone sound like I am from Korea?"

She stepped back for a moment, puzzled.

"What? That's a weird question. Are you Korean?"

He nodded to the question asked, taking his seat again.

"Oh, don't worry. Koreans or Arangese, we're the same."

"Ah..."

Relaxed by her answer, he finally started eating his bibimbap.

"Enjoy your meal, Sir."

He enjoyed eating his meal, but he suddenly heard someone's soft voice from behind.

He glanced back towards the soft-spoken voice out of curiosity, noting his sleek, stylish features, and cool, sword-covered clothes, the newness of his robes radiating brightly.

'Who's that guy? I've never seen him before. Does he live here?' The thoughts trickled into his head.

Sitting at the table right behind him, Baeksul caught the eyes of the handsome man that had captured his attention. He greeted him with a polite nod, eyeing him for the briefest of moments before quickly turning and beginning to eat his long-awaited meal, as if the presence of this gorgeous being did not have his heart ready to jump out of his chest.

"One bowl of Korean bibimbap, if you so please," his words rang out again in heavenly song- a melody that made his heart sing.

Listening to a man with that sort of voice would not be the worst way to spend the day.

Might there be a chance he is-?

Now was not the time to ponder on possible romances. Purchasing the supplies for tonight's supper was first in his list of priorities- not drooling over a handsome, sexy, delectable-

Distracted by his own thoughts, Baeksul ate mindlessly until the hot burst of scalding rice met his tongue, and he spat it out instinctively with a curse.

"Be careful there now, boy!" the server laughed, passing his table in one swift move as the sheepish boy cringed and scanned the room to see if he had been caught. Slowly twisting his body, his eyes locked with the man from earlier, and he struggled to keep his heart in his chest.

Just then, Baeksul watched the man stand and approach his table, body suddenly paralyzed. Palms dampened with sweat and heart pounding like a drum, Baeksul swallowed whatever nerves were lodged in his throat and looked up to meet his eyes.

"It is as though I have entranced you. That is why you are unable to look away, yes?"

Baeksul's lips twisted in embarrassment, unsure of how to respond properly to such directness. "My… my apologies," he managed to stutter out.

"Well? What is the reason?"

"Oh! It is nothing, really. I stare only because you remind so much of a friend of mine."

"Friend?"

Oh, he must not understand Korean.

"Hmm, shimile."

The man's eyes narrowed slightly. "I will have you know that I speak Korean quite well. I know what 'friend' is in your language."

An awkward silence fell upon the two, their eyes not parting from the other's gaze. But then, riddled with embarrassment and a bit of shame once more, Baeksul bowed his head and cast his gaze to the floor.

A few moments pass before another word is spoken. "What is your name?"

Startled, Baeksul's eyes flicked back up to his. "My name is Baeksul. And yours, if I may ask?"

He stopped himself and cleared his throat.

Not here.

"You may call me Jin-hyuk."

Jin-hyuk bent his body forward and bowed his head, then slid into the empty seat beside Baeksul. They sat together like that for the next half hour, sharing stories and talking as if they were old friends until they eventually decided to leave together.

Wallyung was in awe of how much the landscape of his cute, old hometown had changed. However, even if the town no longer resembled what he had imprinted in his memories, this place was and forever will be where he had grown up in.

Since his father was never really present in his childhood, his uncle took it upon himself to raise the boy, becoming a precious father-figure to Wallyung. The Emperor would always be grateful to his uncle, having provided him the chance to create wondrous memories that he could not have in the palace; memories of playing with friends or simply just living a life with a freedom he had taken for granted not so long ago.

Unlike Hanbyul City, the days with clear, blue, radiant skies were plentiful, and every time he returned to this familiar stretch of land, all the worries that gnawed on his nerves vanished. Another rare advantage of living here was the exchange; gender, age, nor status mattered.

Everybody was equal. Living here also meant he was known as Jin-hyuk Lee, not Wallyung, The Emperor of Arang. Ruminating on life here made him finally realize he could live as he wanted if he were to stay. And yet, despite the yearning in his heart to relinquish his duty as Emperor, Wallyung knew that doing so would be wrong.

"Jin-hyuk?"

Baeksul knitted his eyebrows together and blocked their path, waving his hand and shouting to grab the other man's attention. Wallyung snapped out of his trance and blinked a few times before looking at Baeksul.

"Yes?"

Baeksul smiled softly. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, I come from Hanbyul."

"Ah, you are from the capital city. Then, what brings you someplace as far as here?"

"And why is it of any importance to you?" Wallyung snapped.

"I only wished to know-"

Wallyung continued forward, pushing past the smaller man when he suddenly stopped and looked at Baeksul with thin eyes. "Are you not needed elsewhere?"

"Yes-"

"Well then, I shall take my leave."

With a polite wave of goodbye, Wallyung bid his farewell and left the other man to shout at his departing figure.

"Farewell, Jin-hyuk!"

***

A tired moon hid behind heavy sheets of clouds, stars spread thinly across the night sky while the rest of the land seemed to be laid to rest in a quiet slumber. Perched on a stretch of land encased by high mountains, Wallyung carefully stepped into the home he had grown fond of during his childhood years and swept his eyes around the area.

He lit up a lantern, and its flickering glaze of amber light scattered across the room, giving him the feeling that he was an intruder rather than a person who had lived within these walls for years.

He moved from the entrance and made his way into his chilly bedroom, dropping his heavy bag onto the floor. Then, reaching into the wooden closet standing in the corner of the room, he grabbed a folded blanket and rolled it out for him to lay on. Once he was settled atop the soft fabric, he gazed up at the ceiling and released a big breath. The room was quite small, but the peace granted was not one he would trade for.

With the sounds of his rhythmic breathing and nothing but the gentle waves of light emanating from the lantern he placed on the floor, sleep came with no trouble for the runaway emperor.

But did soon came to an end when a voice broke his sleep spell.

Wallyung's eyes snapped open and checked his surroundings. The voice seemed to be coming from the yard. Quickly, he tumbled off the blanket and to his feet, then hurried towards the sound, stopping abruptly when his eyes landed on a familiar face.

"What- what are you doing here!"

He jabbed a slim finger in Baeksul's direction.

Baeksul, just as surprised as Wallyung, waved off the shock and answered with a luminous smile.

"Nobody has lived here for years, so upon seeing the light, I came to check on the home. Jinhyuk, do you live here?"

His eyebrows pulled together. "Yes, this home belongs to my late uncle."

"Oh, by chance, are you the nephew of Kwang-soon?"

"Ho- how could you possibly know him?"

"I live next door!"

Wallyung followed the line of where Baeksul pointed, dread filling him when he saw the house. He began to wonder if this was a punishment from the heavens for running away like the fool he was.

Baeksul tilted his head in slight confusion, staring at the taller man with a heart full of shy awkwardness. "Ah, yes... Perhaps it is best if I go now," he said.

Wallyung only gave a quick nod before facing the door to return inside, but Baeksul's fingers wrapping around his arm stopped him from going any further. "Wait, if I may?"

He shrugged his arm out of Baeksul's hold and, with his head leaned back cautiously, turned to glare at him. "What?"

"Jinhyuk, can you spare me some of your time tomorrow?"

"And why do you possess so much interest in others?"

"No, what is-"

"That is enough. I am leaving."

"Oh, yes. Well, good ni-"

The door slammed shut.

Wallyung trudged back to his room, body aching with fatigue as he collapsed for the second time that night onto his blanket. He tossed and turned, finding a position comfortable enough to sleep, then eventually fell back into the dark abyss- mind no longer wanting to face the real world.

Meanwhile, Baeksul spoke to himself as he followed the path back home. "What is wrong with him? Truly such a strange man."