Three

Soo-ah's heart pounded as the seconds ticked by. she knew something was off with her body as she tried to will her mind to move her hand and legs. It was almost frustrating as if she was in a nightmare that was very hard for her to wake up from.

When her body started to move and her head started to turn left and right as if taking in the room for the first time. She was confused about what was going on until she started to speak again.

"Where am I?" She heard herself ask as she walked to the mirror in the room. She raised her hands without her accord and touched her face. "I am a woman."

"Oh, wow. I didn't know that," Soo-ah said out of nowhere, making her body jump in fear.

"Who is that? Show yourself right now!"

Fear took over her body and mind when she realized what was happening. It was almost as if something had possessed her and at the thought of that, she found herself feeling like she was about to pass out. Her legs gave out and she began to fall forward. Knowing she could not control her limbs, she anticipated the fall but only to feel strong arms wrap around her body. The set of new arms made her stand up straight and back away.

Soo-ah screamed when she saw a man standing before her. She ran to a corner and grabbed a book off her desk then pointed it at the man who stood with his eyes widened and mouth agape.

"Wh-who are you? Wh-what are you doing here and how did you get here?" She stuttered and took in the stranger's appearance.

He was a good-looking man, tall and slightly muscular through the traditional attire he wore, which made her blink in shock. She slowly analyzed his outfit that was traditional from shoulders to toe, even his hair— which she suspected to be a wig— was long and stopped at his waist.

"Did you get lost or something?" She asked. "Were you headed to some art class?"

The man furrowed his eyebrows at her and shook his head.

"Do you know where this is? I am supposed to meet someone of great importance to me. Have you seen her anywhere?"

Soo-ah cringed. "Why are you speaking so formally? Look, cut out the act and leave my room or I'll call security."

"I am not acting. I am Yun Jeong-hun of the Yun Clan."

Soo-ah pursed her lips as she stared at him with an incredulous look before she covered her mouth and laughed softly. She laughed more when he squeezed his face in anger. Soo-ah knew he was either joking or still pretending to prepare for an art class.

"Look, I am not in the mood for this. You need to leave right now," she said and marched to the door. She yanked it open and motioned at the door with her other hand. "If this is some prank show, call your PD and let him know that I am not interested in getting pranked. I've got real-life issues to deal with."

"Just because I am not in my royal quarters does not give you the right to disrespect me. I have an honorable figure and you will need to understand that," he said in a firm tone, with his posture straight and face tilted upward.

Soo-ah scrunched one side of her nose and rolled her eyes afterward. She walked up to him and looked up, seeing there was a huge height difference between the both of them.

"Since you claim you're royalty, I am the president of the Republic of South Korea and I ask you to leave my quarters," Soo-ah said and pointed over her shoulder.

"You are?" The man asked in shock. "I am deeply sorry for disrespecting you."

When the man bowed more than once, Soo-ah's expression held so much concern that she ended up pinching her nose. She placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Enough," she said in an annoyed tone. "Enough of this drama. I'm going to call the police."

Soo-ah pulled out her phone and started to click the number but paused when Haneul walked into the room. Everyone stayed quiet for a few seconds. Soo-ah was worried about what Haneul was going to think of the man standing in their room but when Haneul walked over to her side of the room, she craned her head sideways.

"Why is the door open?" Haneul asked as she took off her coat.

"Uh... Hannie?" Soo-ah asked and looked at the stranger whose eyes were fixed on Haneul like he had seen something shocking on her. "Are you... um... Can you see this—"

"See what?" Haneul asked and came closer. "Oh, my goodness. Are you okay? You weren't looking like yourself at the restaurant, what happened?"

Soo-ah was speechless at the fact that Haneul stood so close to the man yet acted like she couldn't see him. She exchanged a shocked look with the man before staring back at Haneul.

"Chun-Ja?" The man whispered in a wavy voice.

"Chun-Ja?" Soo-ah repeated in a confusing tone.

"Who's Chun-Ja?" Haneul asked. "Anyway, Chang Min—"

"Hannie, you mean you're not seeing someone else?"

"What do you mean?" Haneul asked and looked around the room before meeting her eyes again.

"There's someone here and you can't see him?" Soo-ah asked, her voice cautious.

Haneul sighed. "You need to stop scaring me with your ghost pranks. And no, I'm not seeing anybody except you. Are you sure you're okay?"

Soo-ah couldn't say anything. She began to feel fear as she knew the man she was seeing was the ghost of a dead person. She started to feel goosebumps on her skin and stepped away from him. She gasped inaudibly when he went to where Haneul stood and waved his hand in front of her face. Haneul barely reacted and simply walked to the door.

"I need to meet someone upstairs. I'll see you later tonight."

With that, she left the room. Once the door was shut, Soo-ah palmed her forehead and tried to make an understanding of what had just happened.

"How did she not see you?" She asked. "Please, just tell me you're not a ghost. Tell me you didn't just die and somehow found your way to me."

"I am also very confused," he said and approached her but Soo-ah took a step back.

"Stay there. Don't even dare come close."

She was scared to the bones and sweaty from the heavy confusion and panic she was feeling. She looked around the room for water and found one on her desk, which she quickly drank. She leaned against the desk and shut her eyes tight.

"I am only dreaming, I am only dreaming," she whispered. "This is just a dream or this is just a nightmare."

"Sadly, it isn't."

Soo-ah heard a new voice and spun around. An elderly lady in a traditionally styled outfit stood beside the man. Soo-ah's eye twitched and a wave of anger sprang through her body.

"Does my room look like a theater house?"

"Enough," the woman said. "I am Seong-ja and I am the one who brought this man, Jeong-hun, to this place."

"Take him back then," she ordered.

Seong-ja flickered her hand and Soo-ah felt her lips forcibly seal. She tried to move her lips but they didn't and after multiple tries, she sighed and crossed her arms.

"Can you explain what is happening? Why isn't Chun-Ja seeing me?" Jeong-hun asked.

"If you had listened to everything I was going to say, you would have known that choosing the option of coming to this future meant that your Chun-Ja will not be able to see you."

"How do you expect me to react to this now? What was the point of coming to me and telling me you can put an end to my misery?" Jeong-hun angrily asked.

"Do you think that receiving the greatest things in life comes without effort?" Seong-ja asked back and laughed. "I have given you what you wanted. You're already pronounced dead in your past life."

Soo-ah waved her hands and moved them around, in a bid to ask them why she is involved in this. When they couldn't understand what she was saying, Seong-ja waved her hand and her lips parted.

"Wait, so you're telling me that my best friend is the lover of this man but from another timeline?" Soo-ah asked while looking from one person to the other.

"So, I have to live with the fact that my Chun-Ja can't see me but she can?" Jeong-hun asked.

Soo-ah could sense the sadness in his voice and felt pity for him. It was hard to believe everything that was happening but from the woman appearing randomly and him popping out of nowhere, it answered a few of her questions except one.

"Were you inside me?" Soo-ah asked and cringed at the way she phrased it. "I mean, why did I feel like someone was controlling me? Does that have anything to do with you two?"

Seong-ja smiled. "This will be the last time you two will see me. Jeong-hun was supposed to listen to every word I said before breaking the box. You merged with her chi which will now allow you to possess her body. I made it so that you will be able to communicate with your Chun-Ja since she is close to her."

"Thank you but this doesn't solve the issue of her not being able to see me."

"Listen, I'm not going to allow you people to use my body for—"

The woman sealed her lips once again, causing Soo-ah to stomp on the floor with a scowl on her face.

"She will still see you... but only when you've proven that the person that exists in this time remembers you from her past life. My questions for you now are; how will you make her remember and how long can you wait?"

The question made the air in the room heavy, even Soo-ah felt the tension and panic Jeong-hun was feeling at that moment.