Chapter 2 recap: While waiting for Jordan, Phelia thought back to the college days when she and Jordan worked on their dream script and talked about their dream of working for Disney Pixar. Back to the present, Phelia got annoyed when Jordan asked her about looking for a boyfriend. She even refused his recommendation of an English man he met at a golf club. Suddenly, they spotted a man dressed in a hanbok fainted on the floor of the cafe and thanks to Jordan's cup of water, the man was brought back to life but was immediately sent to a mental hospital because of the "Sun Yang" kingdom he kept asking. After hearing further details of the last time he remembered before he passed out, Phelia dragged him to her car and drove off...
Modern Prince
Written by: Michele Hii
Chapter 3: Overwhelmed
"This is the strangest carriage I've ever seen!" he exclaimed. He pressed one of the buttons and lifted his hand off quickly when he saw the window automatically rolled down.
"Um...can you roll the window back up please? I've turned on the air-conditioner." I asked.
"Air conditioner? I've never heard of that! And how to roll it up? I don't know which of these little thingies to press!" he panicked.
"Just press the same button, sir." I replied calmly. I tried not to grip on the steering wheel a little too tight while driving. To my relief, he did as I told him to. Unfortunately, I couldn't help taking short glances at his anxious look. He looked like he had absolutely no idea where he was. What if everything he said back then was true?
"Is it just me or did I just saw monster-like structures down there?" his eyes widened. I parked my car and helped him to unbuckle but he still had the flabbergasted look on his eyes. I guessed he couldn't get the picture of the LA city out of his head.
"Are you talking about skyscrapers?" I teased, fishing in my jeans pocket for the house key.
"Skyscraper? I don't know what that is!" he frowned.
"Let's just get in." I sighed.
"No!" he shot back.
"Come on!" I groaned, "I'll help you get back to your kingdom!"
"Then take me there now!"
"But don't you want to rest first?"
"Ha! I don't want to step a foot in this...garbage."
"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrow.
"This is not a palace. This is like a mouse hole for peasants like you." he crossed his arms.
Can I just slap him?
"Joo Yoon...sir..."
"Your Majesty."
"Huh?"
"It's rude of you to call me 'sir'." he cleared his throat, "Call me 'Your Majesty'."
Oh geez...why did I create a character that is a spoiled, rude prince...
"Your Majesty," I said, "I just need to figure something out on how to get you back to your home. If you can just come in and corporate with me, I promise I'll help you."
He looked at me for a few seconds before responded with a sigh, "Very well."
I placed my handbag on the black table I recently bought from IKEA and immediately filled a glass with water. The guest looked around my kitchen with a stoned face, but he suddenly uttered something that sounded more like a compliment. I wasn't sure whether I heard it right but I read his lips saying "Not bad."
"You must be thirsty." I beckoned at him with a friendly smile as I handed him the glass.
"Oh...I am...thank you." he took it and gulped it up.
"Would you like something to eat?" I asked, opening my fridge and closed the door halfway, hoping that he won't see my overloaded storage of leftover lasagna, soon-to-be-expired veggies, and a cheesecake to be thawed for dinner. Heck, I had little time to cook a proper meal! T.T
"No thank you. I would rather have sikhye from my new chef." he shook his head.
"Sikhye? I know that dessert!" I poked my head out.
He looked at me suspiciously before walking towards me, "You do?"
"What? Are you judging me?"
"No, I'm not. I'm just asking you whether you know about sikhye. Or wait...you know the girl who made it?"
Ahhhh....the thing is I haven't written the girl's name yet. I want her to reveal herself later in the story.
"Well," I explained, "I have no idea who this girl you're talking about, but I absolutely know what sikhye is, Your Majesty."
He continued giving me this I-don't-know-if-I-should-trust-you face.
"Don't believe me? How about if I get some for you?"
"You mean you want to make sikhye for me?" he threw his head back, "Ha! I don't ever think you can make the dish similar to my chef's."
"It's a bet, Your Majesty." I replied determinedly.
"Very well." he nodded.
It was a good thing I had made the dessert earlier. I brought a pot of it to a church gathering a few nights ago and after that I left a jug of it in the fridge. I immediately took it out and smiled at the sight of tiny white grains resting on the surface of the yellow liquid.
"I can guarantee, you're going to love it!" I grinned, pouring a cup and walking to the couch. To my surprise, Joo Yoon was lying on it with his eyes closed, snoring softly.
"Wow..is he that tired?" I exclaimed. I put the cup on the table and walked to a closet at a corner. My eyes stopped in seconds as I pulled a grey cotton blanket from the tower of towels and unfolded it. I thought to myself while I laid the blanket over his body. The world that I live in had scared him. I created a prince living in an ancient Korean dynasty, and now he's trapped here in the 21st century. That's a big switcheroo, and there's no need to activate a time machine.
Maybe...I can go and ask her. She can help me.
I checked to see whether my notebook was in my handbag. Then, I quickly scribbled a sticky note, pasted it onto the cup, and placed it back into the fridge. He probably will open the fridge and find something to eat since he hadn't eaten anything. Softly, I escaped out of the house.
* * *
"Madame Cyprine?" I called out.
"Oh! Heavens!" the lady at the counter jumped. She nearly dropped the dropper with blueish green fluid inside.
"Sorry!" I stepped back, "is it not a good time now?"
"No no no no no, of course I have time now. Come on in, sweetie!" Madame Cyprine smiled.
I bowed my head slightly and closed the door behind me.
"I was wondering," she closed the cap of a jar filled with what seemed like a potion and put it aside, "Are you Korean?"
"Huh? Oh...yeah...I am." I replied.
"Ah! I knew it!" she snapped her fingers, "I see you bow when you first came in and now you did it again. Koreans always do that right?"
"Yeah...I guess...wait that's not why I'm here."
"Is something wrong, dear?"
"Yes! Major problem, Madame Cyprine!" I slammed my hands on her counter desk, "I wrote a story last night and then this morning a man dressed in a hanbok with the same name as my protagonist fainted at the coffee shop Jordan and I were at and then when we took him to the mental hospital after he woke up and then he told the psychiatrist that he was from Sun Yang dynasty which is the name of my protagonist's homeland in my story and then I dragged him to my house and then he told me about the skihye dessert he craved for just like back in my story and then..."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" the lady stopped, "Slow down, Phelia! An old lady like me can't catch up with rants like this."
I took a deep breath and gulped water from my detox bottle. Madame Cyprine looked at me with a reassuring smile. She looked like the only person I could trust for now.
"I wrote a story in the notebook, and you told me that the notebook can grant wishes, right?"
"That's right."
"Well...I sort of wished that the prince, which is the character in my story, would come to life. And to my surprise, it did happened."
"What do you mean?"
"This morning, when Jordan and I were at a coffee shop, we saw a man dressed in a hanbok fainted there and..."
"What's a hanbok?"
"It's a traditional Korean clothing, but anyway..." I breathed again, "We managed to wake him up and we took him to a mental hospital because we predicted that he must have knocked his head on the floor and he thought he was another person. But when he told the psychiatrist there, he mentioned about where he came from and the place he said was exactly the same as the setting from my story."
"And?"
"And then I realized that all he talked about was from my story, and I knew at the moment that he was transformed into a real human because I wished for it last night."
"Ahh...I see."
I sighed and massaged my temples, "What do you think, Madame Cyprine?"
She stroked her chin as if she had a goatie, "That's definitely the notebook's magic. I've seen people doing the same thing years ago."
"They gave fictional character life as well?"
"Well...not really...but they did write their wishes down and they immediately had their wishes granted. One of them wished for her husband to become a merchant, and it did happened the next day when the husband returned with trunks of gold. It just happened out of the blue."
"Oh wow...wait..then how come the notebook is blank when I first bought it?"
"Because it's magic, darling. It erases all pages once it's completed. Besides, it won't be for sale if the notebook still has writing in it, right?"
Madame Cyprine pointed at the magic notebook I was holding, "May I?"
"Oh..uh...sure." I replied, handing it to her.
Her eyes darted like lightning as she skimmed through the pages. I looked at her anxiously but at one point, my mind wandered to a thought of pitying Prince Joo Yoon who was left alone in this bustling city. Since I was the one who created him, I had to protect him. But...how was I supposed to do that? Otoke????
I was interrupted by a sudden slam in front of me. The elder's palm was flat on the cover and she had this serious look printed on her face.
"I knew it," she said, "The notebook must have created your character with memories from your story. If he's in this world, it'll be hard for you to continue with the story."
"What do you mean?"
"If he continues to live in this world by indulging into the routines or events of a real human, your story will go into a different direction. And if that happens, bad things will happen not only to you, but also your character."
"So...what should I do?"
A chill crawled down my spine as I felt a cold shadow leaned on me that brushed against my cheek, "The only way to make him vanish away from this world is to finish the story. And to make your story the way you wanted, you have to keep him away from all things you do. Don't get him involved in your daily routines. Otherwise, he'll create new memories that is not from your story and he'll be in great danger."
"I can keep him away from my activities but...finish the story?" I stared at her in disbelief, "I just started it! How am I suppose to finish quickly?"
"Then you have to take time to do so."
"It'll take weeks! Or maybe even months!" I frowned, "Is there another way? Is there like a spell book or potion in your store that can break the spell?"
"I wish I do but...I'm afraid I don't have one."
I sighed and took the notebook back.
"I know you don't expect this to happen, dear." she said, "But sometimes magic doesn't go through the easy way. You wished for your character to be brought to life, and it happened, that's it. And if you're not satisfied with the way your wish turns out to be, you have to find a way and go through it to end the wish you don't hope for."
"I understand..." I gave a sad smile, "thanks, Madame Cyprine."
"I wish you all the best, Phelia." she smiled back, "And please, don't hesitate to come by again if you have any questions or concerns."
"I will."
As I stepped out of the "Kaboom" store, the first thing my peripheral vision caught was a heavily-rusted garbage bin a few feet from me. Hmm...if I throw this away, will I forget the story? No...I guess that won't work huh? Besides, Madame Cyprine has made it clear that the only way to bring Joo Yoon back into the story for good is to finish writing the story. But I won't have time to write the whole thing in a short period of time. I still have the film to work on...but I don't want the prince to be stuck here for too long either...arggggghhhhhhhhhh!
I exited the alley with a dark cloud above me and I was pretty sure doom was about to rain on me when suddenly I bumped into a man with a Star Wars shirt and baggy pants that was big enough to cover his puny figure.
"There you are!" a familiar voice said.
I looked back and saw his face lit up.
"Jordan!" I exclaimed.
No comments:
Post a Comment