Chapter 5 recap
Phelia realized that she was late for work and the prince begged her to take him with her. She gave it in and asked the bodyguard of the studio, Bobby Allen to keep an eye on him. She was surprised to see a cold, scolding Jordan in the meeting and the whole staff was ordered to fix the animation even though they had finished polishing. After the meeting, she saw a never-before-seen employee flirting with Joo Yoon but he skipped to Phelia. Phelia took him to shopping for a new makeover, dinner, and a talk under the stars. She even gave him a new name, Craedon. Craedon reached out for a napkin when suddenly he was leaning super close to Phelia and his lips brushed against hers. Phelia was shocked and locked herself in her car.
Modern Prince
Written by: Michele Hii
Chapter 6: Love Triangle?
"Phelia? Phelia?" Craedon's voice muffled through the window.
"Huh?" I snapped my thoughts away.
"Are you okay?"
"Y...yeah." I nodded vigorously.
He gave a small smile. I fumbled my hands on the controls. As he got in the car, I could feel him looking concernedly at me.
"You have uh...whipped cream on your chin." he said. My eyes widened as he reached his fingers towards my face.
"It's ok...I...I can do it myself." I stammered.
But as I was about to push his hand away, his long, slender fingers stroked a tiny dot of cream off my chin. It sent chills under my skin. He wiped his finger off with a napkin from my napkin holder. He put the holder back into my purse which was at the back seat. The way he turned to the back seat got my heart pumping because I could see his sexy jawline. Did I make my character this attractive?
"Oh! And uh..I'll throw these two cups as soon as we get home." he flashed a bigger smile. Now my cheeks were heating up.
I focused on the view in front of me and cleared my throat, "It's getting late."
"Yeah, I better get some sleep anyways." he yawned.
As I drove up the hill, I couldn't help but glancing at him who held the two empty cylinders. He looked back at me but I focused on holding the wheel.
Stop looking at me! my head yelled.
But he wouldn't look away.
"Ah! Finally!" he got out once my car parked in the garage. I breathed deeply and got my purse. Sure enough, I spotted him dumping the cups into the black can nearby. He then waited at the front door for me to get my keys.
"Do you want a glass of water?" I asked as I turned the kitchen light on.
"No I'm good, I'm just gonna go to bed." he replied.
"Hang on, I've left sleepwear for you on your bed." I called.
"Yeah I saw it, I'll get changed right away."
As I helped myself with a glass, I couldn't stop replaying the kiss in my head. It wasn't exactly a kiss but his lips touched mine, so that was still considered a kiss...right? Gah! Why I can't erase it away?
"Craedon?" I poked my head through the bedroom door. I looked ahead to see him snoring lightly with his newly-bought oversize T-shirt and loose cotton pants. Gosh, he looked cute with the soldier position he was in. I pulled out a blanket and laid it on top of his body. Tucking and smoothing the fabric over him, I found myself gazing lovingly at his countenance. I could just look at him like that all night. No joke.
BUZZ
"Who in the world texts at this hour?" I whispered and took out my phone.
Jordan: I'm here. Outside.
What is he doing here?I thought. I walked downstairs and opened the front door. Behind a silver Nexus was a poker face Jordan. On his hand was a long list of messages on his phone.
"Hey, Jordan! What's up?" I put up a friendly smile.
"Where the hell were you?" Jordan frowned.
I stared at him in surprise.
"I...uh...I was with Craedon."
"Who?"
"Joo Yoon. I named him Craedon."
"Oh, really?" he folded his arms, "Why would you give him a new name?"
"Why can't I?" I raised my eyebrow.
"All this time, you hang out with the prince who happens to be the fiction character you created, and I've been waiting for so long for you to give up on him for a while."
"Give up on him? For what?"
"Hello? For me?" he waved his hand in front of me, "I thought we're supposed to hang out tonight, but you didn't text me back on what movie you wanna watch."
"I forgot to text you back, okay? And I'm sorry!" I raised my voice.
"Is it because you got distracted with that guy?"
"What's wrong with sticking with Craedon anyway?" I barked, "Can't I know him more?"
"Why would you?"
"Because he's a friend!"
"But he's not human!"
"He is! He's turned into a human!"
"But still he's not!"
"Don't say that!"
"Phelia! For God's sake! Wake up! Joo Yoon is a book character! He's not a living being!" he yelled till his voice rang through the whole street.
I stared at him with my mouth hung open.
"What is wrong with you?"
"The question is, what is wrong with YOU?"
"Me? What did I do? All I do is taking care of Craedon!"
"Yeah, you've put so much attention on him these few days. It makes me sick."
"Well what does it have to do with you? I've told you everything about him and you should understand and support my plan of accompanying him."
"Accompanying him, huh?" Jordan stuffed his hands in his jeans pocket and sniffed, "I thought you want to avoid him from involving in the human world. Frankly, you're not doing a good job protecting him."
"What are you talking about? I'm helping him to fit in so that other people won't see him as an outsider."
He snickered before taking a few steps backward, "Seriously, you need to wake up. This little...friendship you're building with him, is not gonna last long."
It was like my heart was filled up with volcanic fire. I glared at him,"Leave. Now."
"I was gonna."
"Just go. Please."
He said nothing as he strutted back to his car. I watched as the bastard drove off. I can tell that he's jealous, but he shouldn't act like crap.
* * *
I accidentally lost grip of my pen. It rolled towards the calendar that stood at a corner of my desk.
As I picked it up, my eyes stopped at the days listed under a bold capitalized "July". It had been a week already and I came to know Craedon more. I had written more chapters for Chef of Sun Yang, and after the one I just wrote, Jordan's words stuck out to me like glue.
This little...friendship you're building with him, is not gonna last long.
I flipped through the pages, scanning through the romance between Joo Yoon and Seul Eun. In reality, Creadon was with me. But in fantasy, it's not Craedon but Joo Yoon, the prince, who had an intimate relationship with Seul Eun. Still, I wrote that Craedon...I meant Joo Yoon to keep his relationship with the chef a secret. Seul Eun was the one who begged him not to expose their love to anyone, and he agreed. Besides, every time when the royal staff was around, he would yank his hand away and ordered her for a second round of food. Speaking of food...
"Did you just ate my sandwich?" I exclaimed, staring at bread crumbs scattered on the Subway wrapper.
"Umpphpph...no." he muffled through his chewing. I giggled at his chipmunk cheeks and helped to wipe his mouth with a napkin.
"You're such a devil, guess it's my fault for feeding you with new food."
"Well, don't blame yourself." he smiled, smoothing my hair, "I've tried so many dishes my body feels revitalized."
I kissed him on the cheek and crushed the wrapper into a ball, "Let's go."
"To where, Jagi?" he tilted his head on one side like a confused kid.
"You'll see." I winked.
We made our way to the famous Long Beach. The summer breeze hit me gently once I got off.
I excitedly took off my Crocs slippers and allowed my feet to crush onto the white sand.
"Come on!" I waved to Craedon.
"Why do you take off your shoes?" he asked, surprised, "Don't you get your feet dirty?"
"Even if you wear sneakers, sand can just get into your feet." I giggled, "So take your shoes off! And your socks too!"
"You sure?" he stared in surprise.
I walked to take his hands, "Trust me, Craedon Oppa."
He blushed every time I called him that. He looked at the sunset just to ease his warm cheeks.
"Aww...Crae Crae!" I put on my cutest voice.
"Stop that!" he groaned.
"I'm still waiting for you to take off your shoes though."
"Oh, right."
He finally took them off and lifted his right foot from the grass. Once he stepped on the powdery grains, a smile was immediately formed on his face. He put his other foot down and looked up with excitement.
"Oppa!" I shouted. He saw me standing near the waters. He then ran down like an athlete and dragged me right onto his body. I leaned my head onto his chest and relaxed. His arms wrapped around my neck felt like a pillow. I moved my right foot backwards. It touched the cool water. He noticed and looked at me in surprise.
"Is that how you wash your feet?"
"Yeah, but I also can do this." I smirked and kicked my foot lightly. Water splashed onto his feet.
"What is that for?" he exclaimed, loosening his hug.
"To cool you off." I grinned cheekily. I let go off my hands and ran a few feet away, "Catch me if you can, Craedon!"
"What?"
"Come on!" I laughed and kicked to create sprays off the ocean waves. He shrugged and set his feet onto the water. "Whoa! So cold!" he yelped. He shortly chased after me in circles. We splashed water at each other till our clothes were completely soaked with earth's saltiness. He suddenly snaked his arms round my waist and heaved his body behind me, "Gotcha!" he panted.
I chuckled and sneaked a light kiss on his wet cheek. He reached out one arm under my legs and lifted me off the water.
"Oppa!" I squeaked, squeezing his shoulders.
"Hang on tight, Phelia!" he beamed.
I nodded and wrapped my arms round his neck. Like a bird, I was swooped in midair with his arms supporting my back and legs. We laughed in sync as he carried me on the gentle rolling blue. Minutes later, he stopped walking and watched the sun disappearing into the horizon. I gazed at the light hues painting the sky. I wished I could see this view every day.
"I should have taken you here earlier." I sighed.
"Why? You've taken me to so many places."
"Yeah, but not this," I replied, "You've taken in so much new things. I thought I would bring you here to take a break days ago."
"But this is the right time for me to take a break."
I stared into his eyes, "Really?"
"Yeah," he smiled, "You've raised me to become a real human, Phelia. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have survived in here."
I smiled back. He looked back at the scenery. I noticed his face glowing with freedom. His skin glistened with ocean droplets. I instantly remembered the day I first found him back in the cafeteria, and my mind went to the scene when I dragged him to my house, and then to when he pissed me off for not cleaning up the plate he broke, to the drunk kiss, to when he drove Bobby Allen crazy at my workplace, to when I gave him a makeover, to that night when he almost kissed me fully, and a lot more that happened this unforgettable week.
He was isolated before. Now he had escaped from alienation. He's a part of this world now. For me, I wouldn't have known what love was until I met him. He's cradling me, and I could feel his warmth not only surrounding my body, but also engulfing in my heart.
"Craedon." I whispered. My breath crawled into his ear which caused him to shiver a little, but he looked back at me that made me drown deep into his beauty.
"No matter what, you'll always be mine. Do you know that?"
"I know." he nodded, "And you're mine alone forever."
I could feel my cheeks turned pink, yet I took a deep breath and leaned forward. My lips locked onto his, and he released before kissing me back. He was still holding me, yet I felt like skydiving in a firework-filled sky.
"Saranghae, Craedon Oppa. I love you." I smiled.
"I love you too, Phelia." he smiled back and kissed me again. I sank into his sweet lips, indulging into this amazing feeling. The feeling of intertwining our love together.
* * *
While working on a new chapter of my novel, I tried not to giggle every time Craedon snored behind me. He sure was a heavy sleeper. I didn't know why I got back to it. I even forgot that Craedon was Joo Yoon. Somehow every time he fell asleep, my hand would automatically pointed to my desk, reminding me to finish my story. I felt like a robot when I told myself to write more. Or like a villian cursed a spell on me to do it with no warning.
As I found myself flipping to a blank page, my eyes scanned at a long paragraph. And the words here were not found in my memory. At all.
I think I should tell Seul Eun how I really felt. That I no longer have feelings for her. That I no longer see sparks whenever she made a move.
That evening, I sat at my usual table with her walking by.
"Here's your sikhye, dear." Seul Eun announced sweetly.
I looked at the bowl and pushed it away. She looked surprised, "Wae? You're not hungry?"
"I'm sick of having sikhye. I want to eat something else."
"But all this time you drink sikhye."
"Well, I feel like eating something else other than drinking sikhye."
"I...I don't understand. I thought this is the only thing you like, Your Majesty."
I stood up and looked at her, "Are you protesting against me?"
"What?" she stumbled.
"I say I want something else, and you hesitated. "
"It....it's just that...this is not like you. You seemed to be not yourself lately."
"Kurom, I feel like I've changed."
"Is something the matter?"
I took a deep breath and walked from the table. I stood a few inches to her and fixed my gaze on her. She looked puzzled, and I know she'll be upset if I tell her, but I couldn't hold it any longer.
"I'm seeing someone."
"Someone else?" her jaw dropped.
I nodded, "Neh. At first I thought I wanted to be with you, but my heart wanders to another person. Unexpectedly, I found this girl whom I cherish for as long as I can remember."
"But...we've been seeing each other for..."
"A week?"
"Yeah."
"But I don't even know you more than I've known the girl I have my eyes on."
"It's not too late, Your Majesty." she begged, "I'll take a day off. I can tell you all about me."
"I'd love to," I stopped, "but I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I can't stop thinking about Phelia."
"Who?"
"The girl who I'm in love with."
"So...it looks like...you're no longer into me?" she croaked. I could see that she tried not to cry.
"What did I do wrong, Your Majesty?" she hiccuped.
"You did nothing wrong." I mumbled.
"Then why don't you want me?"
"Because my heart chooses Phelia. I'm terribly sorry, Seul Eun."
And the next thing I knew, she collapsed on the floor and sobbed. I couldn't stand ripping her heart off, so I went to give her a hug.
"I'm sorry, Seul Eun ah." I whispered.
"Seul Eun!" her co-worker called from the dining room door. I let go off my hands and walked off without looking back.
"What in the world...I swear I didn't write this." I said to myself. As I flipped some more, I stopped at a page where the notebook almost ended. My heart dropped like an elevator down a skyscraper.
I wanted Phelia to know that she'll always be my one and only love. Forever.
Not only it was written in first point of view, but the words were also from himself...which means...
I turned my back. Craedon's eyes were still sealed shut. I was about to look back at my notebook when suddenly I noticed his right fingers changed colour. It wasn't dark or bright, but more like a fading translucent. It crawled up to his hand like a snail, but then it started to speed up to his arm.
I rushed to grab it. He moaned before flickering his eyes open.
"Phelia?" he yawned.
I looked up, still trying to calm down from what I just saw.
"Why are you holding my hand?"
"Um...uh well..."
"Is there something wrong?"
I looked back and to my surprise, his hand was visible again.
"I...I thought...I saw your hand becoming invisible." I muttered.
"Invisible?" he raised one eyebrow and lifted his hand, "I don't see it."
"Well...I saw it like seconds ago."
I stared at it in disbelief till I felt a couple of warm arms wrapping round me. He pulled me close to his chest, "I'm okay, Phelia. Really, I am."
I fidgeted a little. He held me so tight I couldn't breathe, but the fresh lavender scent from his half-buttoned shirt beckoning me not to let go. He raised one hand to touch my hair and whispered, "I forgot to say this before but, I'm happy that I have you in my life, Phelia. I even love when you call me by my new name."
I felt my heart crippling. Those were sweet words, but I couldn't take them. Now I realized that he was once in a love triangle. He struggled to choose between me and Seul Eun. And in the end...he chose me...
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Modern Prince (Chapter 5: A New Makeover)
Chapter 4 recap: Jordan caught up with Phelia and Phelia decided to tell him about the prince. They went to check on the prince in Phelia's house. Joo Yoon broke one of her expensive plates and didn't wanted to clean the mess. Phelia ended up doing it and had an idea of making the prince to get a taste of his own medicine in the second chapter. She wrote him breaking a plate and he had to pick up the pieces with the new chef. After writing the story, the prince woke up just in time. She took him to the nearest park where they would be relaxing with soju. Phelia felt sorry for Joo Yoon because of his limited memories. As they got drunk, she taught him how to approach to the new chef whom he had a crush on. She kissed the prince and it encouraged him to do the same when he met the new chef again.
Modern Prince
Chapter 5: A New Makeover
Written by: Michele Hii
Modern Prince
Chapter 5: A New Makeover
Written by: Michele Hii
I woke up with rays of sunlight that nearly blinded my eyes. I suddenly felt a heavy load on my right shoulder. As I turned my head, I almost screamed. The prince's head was resting on my shoulder!
Wait..what day is today? Please don't tell me I drink soju on the night before a weekday.
"What time is it now?" I asked myself. I reached out for my handbag from the back seat. I heard him groaned as he almost hit his head on the gearshift lever.
"Wha...what's going on?" he mumbled.
"Holy s***!" I yelped. I couldn't believe when a text from Jordan was the first thing that appeared on my phone,
Hey! Whr r u? Meeting's in 15 min!
"Today's Monday??? Oh hell no!" I started the engine.
"Something wrong?" the prince exclaimed.
"I'm gonna be late for work!" I replied, driving back home in a race car's speed.
Jordan, cn u notify d team tat I'll b thr 5 min late? Thx!
I prayed that he received my text. Once I arrived, I dashed upstairs and changed into a white blouse and a black blazer that matched my work pants. Here came multitasking. Gobbling a blueberry muffin while waiting for my detox water bottle to be refilled from the drinking water tank, and then combing my hair while rinsing my mouth with Listerine for 30 seconds. Heck, there wasn't even time for putting on makeup!
"Your Majesty!" I yelled as I put on my heels, "You'll have to stay at my house today, okay?"
"For how long?" he poked his head behind the wall.
"Till 3pm."
His eyes widened as he glanced at the clock from the kitchen counter, "That's too long."
"Well, don't you stay in the palace all you life?" I grabbed my keys.
"But not anymore..." he pouted, "Can I at least go with you?"
"You want to follow me?" I asked in surprise, "But it's work. It's full of people and distraction."
"That sounds interesting."
I twisted the doorknob and opened the door slightly. I felt a tug on my sleeve and winced at the sight of the spoiled man looking at me with puppy-dog eyes.
"Your Majesty, I'm gonna be late for work." I pleaded.
"Please, Phelia! Let me go with you!"
"It's best for you to stay here..." I paused and stared back, "How do you know my name?"
"Huh? I don't know. Your name just came to me."
I shook my head and sighed, "Okay okay fine....but you better not cause any trouble."
"Oh! Thank you thank you so much, Phelia!"
How on earth did he got my name? Gosh...I still can't remember what happened last night. Hold on...drinking soju in the car...at the park...and then I demonstrated a kiss by....OH HELL NO!
Still, I got in the car with him on the passenger seat.
* * *
Five minutes left! Thank God that there was a parking space at the front row. After killing the engine, I took the prince to the security desk where Bobby Allen, the olive-coloured skin watchdog, would greet every staff with cinnamon rolls. Every Thursday, he would go to IKEA and bought a few plastic boxes of cinnamon rolls before work. And then, he would passed one to every staff who walked through the front doors.
"Ay! Phelia! Good morning!" Bobby Allen waved and handed a box with one last tasty treat.
"Hey, Bobby! Can you do me a big favour?" I gushed and grabbed it.
"Sure, anything for you, friend."
"Great!" I smiled in relief and pushed Joo Yoon to the back of his desk, "I need you to keep an eye on Joo Yoon here. Just for today."
"Is he a relative of yours?" Bobby questioned.
"Well...he's a friend of mine. I just need you to take care of him until I finish work."
"So you want me to be his babysitter for seven whole hours?"
"If that's okay for you."
"Phelia, I'm working for four hours only today. Edith's gonna take over later."
"Oh...Edith huh?"
"Yeah, and you know how much she hated babysitting."
Ah right. Edith's a 50-years-old single with grey hair that tangled a lot when she combed it. She even had the voice of an angry Edna Mode. Well...close enough.
"Okay, how about I can just leave this fellow with you after my meeting is done?"
"Deal!"
"Thanks a lot, Bobby!" I bowed gratefully before charging to the elevator.
One minute left! Fudge!
The elevator doors reached to fourth floor. Running as fast as my freaking heels could lift me off the floor, I passed a few doors before pushing the door of the conference hall open.
The first thing I saw were eyes. Eyes filled with surprise and somewhat disappointment.
I looked at the time on my phone while gasping for air, "Hey! I made it! I did say five minutes late right?"
"You did?" Jordan raised his eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"The meeting is at 8am. We always have a morning meeting at 8am." he stated.
"But...I texted you that I'll be here five minutes late."
"I don't usually check my phone before the meeting, Miss Song." he rolled his eyes.
"Well...I'm sorry, okay? It's just that something happened. I promise I won't be late again."
"You better." he mumbled.
Did he just scolded me for being late? I think he had his boss mode on a little too extreme today...
The meeting was usually smooth and lively with loads of ideas to share. But today, and oddly today, the meeting was as cold as Elsa's powers.
"Are you all ameteurs?" he snapped, "Do you think the audience will like a slight blur or jagged line in the animation?"
We all just zipped our mouths and stared at our clasped hands on the table.
"No, right? Then how come I see this?" he tossed a stack of copies with our finished animation like he was attacking someone with a grenade, "This is crap! I want you all to correct these frames again. Am I clear?"
He then stormed off and slammed the door. We stared at one another, dumbfounded. Jordan was definitely not himself today. I wondered if I should talk to him.
As I walked out, my peripheral vision caught the prince looking uncomfortable. A lady with bright red curls talked to him with a flashing smile. She looked friendly, but he was stepping a few inches away. She tried to consult him again by coming closer till her body almost touching against his.
"Phelia!" Joo Yoon waved and sneaked away right before she ....
"What are you doing here?" I asked, eyeing the lady who looked back at me with a frown.
"Miss Song!" the security guard ran towards us. His whole uniform was stained with sweat.
"What did he do, Bobby?" I asked.
"Oh, Phelia!" he stopped and panted, "You have no idea! This dude keeps asking me for this thing called shikhigh because he's starving."
I noticed the prince rolling his eyes and mumbled, "It's pronounced sikhye."
"And I offered him one of my muffins but he refused to take a bite of it. I even ordered him pizza because well, who doesn't like pizza? He didn't want to eat pizza either, I forced him a little by holding a slice close to his mouth but he shoved it away and it fell on the floor. He wasted one of the goodness of life!"
Joo Yoon swept dust with his feet as he stared down guiltily.
"I see," I sighed.
"He then yelled in the lobby for your name for I don't know how long. I gave up and told him that you're in the conference room here but I warned him to wait near the door. Good thing he obeyed me this time." Bobby continued.
"Thank you, Bobby. You've watched over him, that's all I asked for." I smiled and fished out a 10 dollars from my purse, "Here."
"Oh my God! You don't have to!" Bobby shook his head and stepped back.
"Please! Just take it, Bobby. It's a hassle to take care of this guy, anyway." I giggled.
"Well...if you say so." he shrugged and took the bill.
"You've worked hard, Bobby." I smiled again, "See you tomorrow!"
"Thanks a bunch! See you!" he waved.
"You look upset, Phelia." Joo Yoon observed.
"Huh?"
"Did something happened?"
"Oh...I just had a bad meeting."
"How bad?"
"It's just that Jordan scolded us. It's no big deal."
"The guy with blonde hair? But he's a nice guy."
"He's just not himself today." I gave a sad smile, "You know what? Come on!"
"What?"
"We're going out."
* * *
I couldn't help but laughing softly at Joo Yoon who spun around slowly like a revolving door as he looked at the racks of clothes.
"What is this place?" he asked.
"This, Your Majesty, is a clothing store." I winked.
"Never heard of it before." he mumbled.
"It's not a bad thing, Your Majesty."
"Bad? I feel like my eyes are going to be blind by all these...whimsical...colours..."
"Look," I put my hands on my hips, "The reason why I brought you here is to give you a makeover."
"A what?"
"A makeover. You know, giving you a whole new look."
"Why? What's wrong with my clothes?" he exclaimed, smoothing the silk of his hanbok.
I lifted a part of his right sleeve and dropped it like a banana peel, "No one wears a hanbok normally, Your Majesty. Especially here in America. Besides, people think that you're dressing up for Halloween every day or something."
"Halloween?"
"Never mind. Just...try this on!" I sighed and shoved a pair of black pants and a biker jacket right onto his hands.
"You want me to put...these...on?" he cringed.
"Come on! Just go!" I ordered, dragging him to the dressing room area, "I'll be waiting here outside."
While waiting for the prince to change, a notification popped on my phone.
Jordan: Hey! What movie you wanna watch tonight?
Huh...he sounded normal now. Maybe I should ask him what caused him to act like an ogre this morning.
As I was about to reply, I heard a groan behind the wooden door.
"I look ridiculous!" he whined
"Just come out! If you don't look good it that outfit, I can give you a new one."
"Nothing fits me except for the hanbok! I look empty without my own clothes!"
"Your Majesty, trust me, when you find your new look, you won't feel empty at all."
I tapped my foot on the floor for ten seconds. The door slowly creaked open and out came him in badass black, like a warrior. Unfortunately, it didn't suit his baby face.
"No." I shook my head, "Hold on, Your Majesty."
He sighed but folded his arms as he leaned back against the wall.
I searched at the right section and spotted a Warbler-style jacket that came with a white collar shirt underneath. And then alongside the next rack was a row of light brown trousers.
"How about this?" I asked, tossing the set of clothes to him. He said nothing but closed the door. Minutes later, he walked out as a Blaine Anderson doppelganger. However, I wouldn't want him to look like a student since he's around my age.
I was about to give up looking for more when suddenly a dark blue tee sticking out from a shelf hidden in a corner. And from my peripheral vision, I found a pair of white khakis sandwiched between a row of yellow and grey ones.
"Try this, Your Majesty!" I said, handing the shirt and pants to him. I was distracted by the posters that accompanied the beige wallpaper when suddenly a handsome Joo Yoon appeared in front of me. I was pretty much frozen right at the spot. His face was practically glowing with the soft fabric of the shirt and loose pants.
"This...is what I'm talking about." I smiled.
"What?"
"You look good in this!" I showed two thumbs-up.
"Really?" he exclaimed.
"Go look in the mirror!" I pointed to my left.
Joo Yoon walked to the reflecting glass and a small smile crawled on his face.
"I...kind of like it."
"Great! So do you feel empty now?"
"Surprisingly...no."
I smiled bigger than before and grabbed onto his hand, "And this is just the beginning of your transformation."
He looked puzzled once more, but nodded in excitement.
After I selected a few more of this style and paid proudly with my credit card, we set off down to first floor where restaurants and cafes awaited us. When looking at them, his face was like a kid seeing the shooting star for the first time.
"Anything that stuck out to you, Your Majesty?" I asked.
"I don't know. There's so many!" he answered.
"Hmm..." I squinted further ahead to see an In-N-Out restaurant.
"Just leave it to me." I smiled and he nodded.
* * *
It was only a few hours after our meal, but I couldn't get one scene out of my head.
"Hot dog? How could people even eat it alive?" he gasped with a priceless shocked face.
"Well, we don't really kill a dog and cook it. We just call it 'hot dog' for this sausage in bun. You know, like a nickname."
"And what's that? A ham...hambaagah?" he stared at the menu above the counter.
I bit my lower lip to keep myself from laughing. I calmly replied, "It's a hamburger."
"Oh." he nodded and turned to a worker at the cashier, "Servant, make me a beef burger if you please. And if it's not bulky enough, please add kimchi."
The lady looked back at him in surprise, "Sir, we don't have kimchi in our menu."
"You don't?"
"This is not a Korean restaurant, sir."
"Well then what in a Sun's core is this?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I burst out laughing which caused Joo Yoon to almost choke on his first Starbucks drink.
"Something the matter, Phelia?" his eyes widened.
"Sorry, Your Majesty." I waved my hand vigorously, "I just thought of the way you ordered your burger."
"Oh," he giggled and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"So how's your mocha cappuccino?"
"I have no words." he smiled, "It's like the best drink I've ever had."
"Better than the tea you had back in Sun Yang?"
"Well duh!" he threw his head back, "This drink is sick!"
"Well would you look at that?" I winked, "Someone's speaking our language now."
"Guess you've influenced me." he grinned.
I finished my drink and laid on my back to look at the stars. The little jewels were twinkling, just like the refreshed mood I was in at this moment.
"Guess today was not a bad day after all, thanks to you."
"Me? Why?" he asked, slurping his cup.
"You caused trouble at the studio this morning..."
"Phelia, again, I'm so sorry that I..."
"Hey hey! It's okay!" I held out one hand, "You were just anxious, that's all."
"It's just...I shouldn't have come with you."
"On one side, yes, I shouldn't have let you come along. But on another side, I've never felt a new kind of happiness."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...when I met you, I thought that you're my new responsibility besides my work and other things. But today, I realize that I've made a new friend. You're my new happiness, Your Majesty."
I felt him laying down beside me with hands clasped together on his stomach.
"I felt the same way."
I looked at him briefly before looking back up.
"After I met you, I've never felt so...free in my life." he said.
Silence filled the air as both of us watched the decoration in the obsidian sky.
"Oh! That reminds me!" I cut the gap, "Shall I give you a new name?"
"Huh?"
"You know, a casual name. An English name."
"You don't like calling me "Your Majesty"?"
"Well, that's so yesterday. I mean, I want to call you with a better name that suits in this century."
"I guess it's fine." he shrugged.
"I've been saving this name for quite a while actually."
"Really?"
"Yeap." I chuckled, "And it's not a common one either."
"Well, what do you want to call me then?"
"Craedon."
"Cray what?"
"C-R-A-E-D-O-N."
"Sounds unique. I like it."
"Alright!" I pumped my fist in the air.
Craedon laughed and reached out for a napkin. He was leaning to my direction and suddenly stopped super close to my face. We stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. And before I knew it, his lips crept even closer and touched mine.
I froze for what seemed like forever and cleared my throat, "I...uh...I'm gonna get my water bottle."
I got up and locked myself in my car which was a few feet behind us. As I sat still behind the wheel, my heart pumped a thunderstorm. First we drunk kissed which was an accident. And I was going to apologize to him until he...he...he kissed me...
"Your Majesty!" I yelled as I put on my heels, "You'll have to stay at my house today, okay?"
"For how long?" he poked his head behind the wall.
"Till 3pm."
His eyes widened as he glanced at the clock from the kitchen counter, "That's too long."
"Well, don't you stay in the palace all you life?" I grabbed my keys.
"But not anymore..." he pouted, "Can I at least go with you?"
"You want to follow me?" I asked in surprise, "But it's work. It's full of people and distraction."
"That sounds interesting."
I twisted the doorknob and opened the door slightly. I felt a tug on my sleeve and winced at the sight of the spoiled man looking at me with puppy-dog eyes.
"Your Majesty, I'm gonna be late for work." I pleaded.
"Please, Phelia! Let me go with you!"
"It's best for you to stay here..." I paused and stared back, "How do you know my name?"
"Huh? I don't know. Your name just came to me."
I shook my head and sighed, "Okay okay fine....but you better not cause any trouble."
"Oh! Thank you thank you so much, Phelia!"
How on earth did he got my name? Gosh...I still can't remember what happened last night. Hold on...drinking soju in the car...at the park...and then I demonstrated a kiss by....OH HELL NO!
Still, I got in the car with him on the passenger seat.
* * *
Five minutes left! Thank God that there was a parking space at the front row. After killing the engine, I took the prince to the security desk where Bobby Allen, the olive-coloured skin watchdog, would greet every staff with cinnamon rolls. Every Thursday, he would go to IKEA and bought a few plastic boxes of cinnamon rolls before work. And then, he would passed one to every staff who walked through the front doors.
"Ay! Phelia! Good morning!" Bobby Allen waved and handed a box with one last tasty treat.
"Hey, Bobby! Can you do me a big favour?" I gushed and grabbed it.
"Sure, anything for you, friend."
"Great!" I smiled in relief and pushed Joo Yoon to the back of his desk, "I need you to keep an eye on Joo Yoon here. Just for today."
"Is he a relative of yours?" Bobby questioned.
"Well...he's a friend of mine. I just need you to take care of him until I finish work."
"So you want me to be his babysitter for seven whole hours?"
"If that's okay for you."
"Phelia, I'm working for four hours only today. Edith's gonna take over later."
"Oh...Edith huh?"
"Yeah, and you know how much she hated babysitting."
Ah right. Edith's a 50-years-old single with grey hair that tangled a lot when she combed it. She even had the voice of an angry Edna Mode. Well...close enough.
"Okay, how about I can just leave this fellow with you after my meeting is done?"
"Deal!"
"Thanks a lot, Bobby!" I bowed gratefully before charging to the elevator.
One minute left! Fudge!
The elevator doors reached to fourth floor. Running as fast as my freaking heels could lift me off the floor, I passed a few doors before pushing the door of the conference hall open.
The first thing I saw were eyes. Eyes filled with surprise and somewhat disappointment.
I looked at the time on my phone while gasping for air, "Hey! I made it! I did say five minutes late right?"
"You did?" Jordan raised his eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"The meeting is at 8am. We always have a morning meeting at 8am." he stated.
"But...I texted you that I'll be here five minutes late."
"I don't usually check my phone before the meeting, Miss Song." he rolled his eyes.
"Well...I'm sorry, okay? It's just that something happened. I promise I won't be late again."
"You better." he mumbled.
Did he just scolded me for being late? I think he had his boss mode on a little too extreme today...
The meeting was usually smooth and lively with loads of ideas to share. But today, and oddly today, the meeting was as cold as Elsa's powers.
"Are you all ameteurs?" he snapped, "Do you think the audience will like a slight blur or jagged line in the animation?"
We all just zipped our mouths and stared at our clasped hands on the table.
"No, right? Then how come I see this?" he tossed a stack of copies with our finished animation like he was attacking someone with a grenade, "This is crap! I want you all to correct these frames again. Am I clear?"
He then stormed off and slammed the door. We stared at one another, dumbfounded. Jordan was definitely not himself today. I wondered if I should talk to him.
As I walked out, my peripheral vision caught the prince looking uncomfortable. A lady with bright red curls talked to him with a flashing smile. She looked friendly, but he was stepping a few inches away. She tried to consult him again by coming closer till her body almost touching against his.
"Phelia!" Joo Yoon waved and sneaked away right before she ....
"What are you doing here?" I asked, eyeing the lady who looked back at me with a frown.
"Miss Song!" the security guard ran towards us. His whole uniform was stained with sweat.
"What did he do, Bobby?" I asked.
"Oh, Phelia!" he stopped and panted, "You have no idea! This dude keeps asking me for this thing called shikhigh because he's starving."
I noticed the prince rolling his eyes and mumbled, "It's pronounced sikhye."
"And I offered him one of my muffins but he refused to take a bite of it. I even ordered him pizza because well, who doesn't like pizza? He didn't want to eat pizza either, I forced him a little by holding a slice close to his mouth but he shoved it away and it fell on the floor. He wasted one of the goodness of life!"
Joo Yoon swept dust with his feet as he stared down guiltily.
"I see," I sighed.
"He then yelled in the lobby for your name for I don't know how long. I gave up and told him that you're in the conference room here but I warned him to wait near the door. Good thing he obeyed me this time." Bobby continued.
"Thank you, Bobby. You've watched over him, that's all I asked for." I smiled and fished out a 10 dollars from my purse, "Here."
"Oh my God! You don't have to!" Bobby shook his head and stepped back.
"Please! Just take it, Bobby. It's a hassle to take care of this guy, anyway." I giggled.
"Well...if you say so." he shrugged and took the bill.
"You've worked hard, Bobby." I smiled again, "See you tomorrow!"
"Thanks a bunch! See you!" he waved.
"You look upset, Phelia." Joo Yoon observed.
"Huh?"
"Did something happened?"
"Oh...I just had a bad meeting."
"How bad?"
"It's just that Jordan scolded us. It's no big deal."
"The guy with blonde hair? But he's a nice guy."
"He's just not himself today." I gave a sad smile, "You know what? Come on!"
"What?"
"We're going out."
* * *
I couldn't help but laughing softly at Joo Yoon who spun around slowly like a revolving door as he looked at the racks of clothes.
"What is this place?" he asked.
"This, Your Majesty, is a clothing store." I winked.
"Never heard of it before." he mumbled.
"It's not a bad thing, Your Majesty."
"Bad? I feel like my eyes are going to be blind by all these...whimsical...colours..."
"Look," I put my hands on my hips, "The reason why I brought you here is to give you a makeover."
"A what?"
"A makeover. You know, giving you a whole new look."
"Why? What's wrong with my clothes?" he exclaimed, smoothing the silk of his hanbok.
I lifted a part of his right sleeve and dropped it like a banana peel, "No one wears a hanbok normally, Your Majesty. Especially here in America. Besides, people think that you're dressing up for Halloween every day or something."
"Halloween?"
"Never mind. Just...try this on!" I sighed and shoved a pair of black pants and a biker jacket right onto his hands.
"You want me to put...these...on?" he cringed.
"Come on! Just go!" I ordered, dragging him to the dressing room area, "I'll be waiting here outside."
While waiting for the prince to change, a notification popped on my phone.
Jordan: Hey! What movie you wanna watch tonight?
Huh...he sounded normal now. Maybe I should ask him what caused him to act like an ogre this morning.
As I was about to reply, I heard a groan behind the wooden door.
"I look ridiculous!" he whined
"Just come out! If you don't look good it that outfit, I can give you a new one."
"Nothing fits me except for the hanbok! I look empty without my own clothes!"
"Your Majesty, trust me, when you find your new look, you won't feel empty at all."
I tapped my foot on the floor for ten seconds. The door slowly creaked open and out came him in badass black, like a warrior. Unfortunately, it didn't suit his baby face.
"No." I shook my head, "Hold on, Your Majesty."
He sighed but folded his arms as he leaned back against the wall.
I searched at the right section and spotted a Warbler-style jacket that came with a white collar shirt underneath. And then alongside the next rack was a row of light brown trousers.
"How about this?" I asked, tossing the set of clothes to him. He said nothing but closed the door. Minutes later, he walked out as a Blaine Anderson doppelganger. However, I wouldn't want him to look like a student since he's around my age.
I was about to give up looking for more when suddenly a dark blue tee sticking out from a shelf hidden in a corner. And from my peripheral vision, I found a pair of white khakis sandwiched between a row of yellow and grey ones.
"Try this, Your Majesty!" I said, handing the shirt and pants to him. I was distracted by the posters that accompanied the beige wallpaper when suddenly a handsome Joo Yoon appeared in front of me. I was pretty much frozen right at the spot. His face was practically glowing with the soft fabric of the shirt and loose pants.
"This...is what I'm talking about." I smiled.
"What?"
"You look good in this!" I showed two thumbs-up.
"Really?" he exclaimed.
"Go look in the mirror!" I pointed to my left.
Joo Yoon walked to the reflecting glass and a small smile crawled on his face.
"I...kind of like it."
"Great! So do you feel empty now?"
"Surprisingly...no."
I smiled bigger than before and grabbed onto his hand, "And this is just the beginning of your transformation."
He looked puzzled once more, but nodded in excitement.
After I selected a few more of this style and paid proudly with my credit card, we set off down to first floor where restaurants and cafes awaited us. When looking at them, his face was like a kid seeing the shooting star for the first time.
"Anything that stuck out to you, Your Majesty?" I asked.
"I don't know. There's so many!" he answered.
"Hmm..." I squinted further ahead to see an In-N-Out restaurant.
"Just leave it to me." I smiled and he nodded.
* * *
It was only a few hours after our meal, but I couldn't get one scene out of my head.
"Hot dog? How could people even eat it alive?" he gasped with a priceless shocked face.
"Well, we don't really kill a dog and cook it. We just call it 'hot dog' for this sausage in bun. You know, like a nickname."
"And what's that? A ham...hambaagah?" he stared at the menu above the counter.
I bit my lower lip to keep myself from laughing. I calmly replied, "It's a hamburger."
"Oh." he nodded and turned to a worker at the cashier, "Servant, make me a beef burger if you please. And if it's not bulky enough, please add kimchi."
The lady looked back at him in surprise, "Sir, we don't have kimchi in our menu."
"You don't?"
"This is not a Korean restaurant, sir."
"Well then what in a Sun's core is this?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I burst out laughing which caused Joo Yoon to almost choke on his first Starbucks drink.
"Something the matter, Phelia?" his eyes widened.
"Sorry, Your Majesty." I waved my hand vigorously, "I just thought of the way you ordered your burger."
"Oh," he giggled and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"So how's your mocha cappuccino?"
"I have no words." he smiled, "It's like the best drink I've ever had."
"Better than the tea you had back in Sun Yang?"
"Well duh!" he threw his head back, "This drink is sick!"
"Well would you look at that?" I winked, "Someone's speaking our language now."
"Guess you've influenced me." he grinned.
I finished my drink and laid on my back to look at the stars. The little jewels were twinkling, just like the refreshed mood I was in at this moment.
"Guess today was not a bad day after all, thanks to you."
"Me? Why?" he asked, slurping his cup.
"You caused trouble at the studio this morning..."
"Phelia, again, I'm so sorry that I..."
"Hey hey! It's okay!" I held out one hand, "You were just anxious, that's all."
"It's just...I shouldn't have come with you."
"On one side, yes, I shouldn't have let you come along. But on another side, I've never felt a new kind of happiness."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...when I met you, I thought that you're my new responsibility besides my work and other things. But today, I realize that I've made a new friend. You're my new happiness, Your Majesty."
I felt him laying down beside me with hands clasped together on his stomach.
"I felt the same way."
I looked at him briefly before looking back up.
"After I met you, I've never felt so...free in my life." he said.
Silence filled the air as both of us watched the decoration in the obsidian sky.
"Oh! That reminds me!" I cut the gap, "Shall I give you a new name?"
"Huh?"
"You know, a casual name. An English name."
"You don't like calling me "Your Majesty"?"
"Well, that's so yesterday. I mean, I want to call you with a better name that suits in this century."
"I guess it's fine." he shrugged.
"I've been saving this name for quite a while actually."
"Really?"
"Yeap." I chuckled, "And it's not a common one either."
"Well, what do you want to call me then?"
"Craedon."
"Cray what?"
"C-R-A-E-D-O-N."
"Sounds unique. I like it."
"Alright!" I pumped my fist in the air.
Craedon laughed and reached out for a napkin. He was leaning to my direction and suddenly stopped super close to my face. We stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. And before I knew it, his lips crept even closer and touched mine.
I froze for what seemed like forever and cleared my throat, "I...uh...I'm gonna get my water bottle."
I got up and locked myself in my car which was a few feet behind us. As I sat still behind the wheel, my heart pumped a thunderstorm. First we drunk kissed which was an accident. And I was going to apologize to him until he...he...he kissed me...
Friday, 8 July 2016
The Day The Fan Project is Delivered (my time at Kyuhyun's cafe)
Hey, all! It's been a while since I post a personal post so this is it! I'm gonna share with you my time visiting the top place on my Korea list. I'm now in Seoul, South Korea and I'm super excited of bumping into anything Super Junior in the origin place of K-pop.
I had planned the fan project of collecting messages from fans and converting them into letters/cards for Kyuhyun from Super Junior since this past April or May. I still couldn't believe that I did it, delivering voices to a celebrity. It may sound impossible but I've seen Super Junior being so kind and open of hearing from fans.
Once I arrived here where Kyuhyun's parents worked at (Mom House+Deete Espresso), excitement rushed through me like wildfire. I couldn't even describe the happiness I had that time. I immediately took the elevator which was on my right and went up to the sixth floor. There was a sign on my left that led me to the rooftop.
The rooftop was a big garden with a shelter at one corner for special events (I think), a plateau with Kyuhyun's hand figurine, and a red mailbox.
I felt not only my hands shaking, but also my heart. As I filmed a Snapchat video of myself slipping the envelope containing the fan project, I laughed when it didn't exactly fit right through the slit. But after a couple more tries, I was able to slip it in. Now I just have to hope and pray that Kyuhyun will receive it! Since there were a few more letters in the mailbox, there shouldn't be a problem.
I then took the elevator down to first floor and I was overjoyed to see the big display of Kyuhyun's fan gifts and merchandise that decorated the entire cafe. I was literally snapping every good angle of the stuff as I could think of. And then, I decided to buy myself a green tea frappe...because I'm a Matcha addict. XD It was delicious! <3
To my surprise, as I watched the big screen that showed music videos on my right, I didn't realized that Kyuhyun's mom was sitting right behind the screen until I looked down. She was there....in front of me...and I hadn't noticed her till that moment.
I was gonna approach to her when suddenly I saw that she was chatting with two other women at the same table. She looked engaged with the conversation so I decided to let go off my anticipation of taking a selfie with her.
She suddenly spotted me staring at her and smiled with a slight bow. I smiled back and bowed too. :)
I also noticed that she kept glancing behind a few times to watch proudly at her son doing so well in "A Million Pieces" MV and his drama OST video.
The chatting never stopped because after I explained to my family who sat next to them ( at the circle of couches) about Kyuhyun's mom, one of my youngest sisters saw another girl coming in and pointed out that Kyuhyun's sister who was that girl was literally there as well.
And stupidly, when I thought that I had lost my sunglasses, I decided to go back up to the rooftop to search for it. After looking around, I still couldn't find it, so I went back down. But as the elevator reached to the fourth floor, a man in a business suit and glasses came in. I said hi and walked out. But he called me back and said that it was not first floor yet. He must had noticed the button I had pushed. I walked back in the elevator. He smiled at me before answering a phone call. Kyuhyun's "A Million Pieces" ringtone bursted out from his Samsung phone and it hit me like a rock. Was it just me of was it Kyuhyun's DAD was in the elevator...with me????
OMG! I'm such an idiot! What is wrong with my eyes??? And brain???
I didn't talked to him because he was on the phone till he walked out of the elevator and off the building. T.T
But seeing his parents showing these little gestures off camera...I can see why Kyuhyun is lucky enough to have such a wonderful, supportive family. ^.^
Sigh...tough luck huh...even though Kyuhyun was obviously not there because he has a busy schedule ahead of him, I still hoped that I could at least take a picture with Kyuhyun's parents..but in the end...I didn't...</3
Oh well...hopefully I can come again next year, Because the atmosphere of the cafe was just warm and inviting that I wanna come over often! I'm not even kidding!
Anyway...I'm glad that I've done the fan project and again, I hope that it'll be in Kyuhyun Oppa's hands.
I've visited the cafe...and I'm happy. :)
You can share this story if you want, btw. XD
I had planned the fan project of collecting messages from fans and converting them into letters/cards for Kyuhyun from Super Junior since this past April or May. I still couldn't believe that I did it, delivering voices to a celebrity. It may sound impossible but I've seen Super Junior being so kind and open of hearing from fans.
She suddenly spotted me staring at her and smiled with a slight bow. I smiled back and bowed too. :)
I also noticed that she kept glancing behind a few times to watch proudly at her son doing so well in "A Million Pieces" MV and his drama OST video.
The chatting never stopped because after I explained to my family who sat next to them ( at the circle of couches) about Kyuhyun's mom, one of my youngest sisters saw another girl coming in and pointed out that Kyuhyun's sister who was that girl was literally there as well.
And stupidly, when I thought that I had lost my sunglasses, I decided to go back up to the rooftop to search for it. After looking around, I still couldn't find it, so I went back down. But as the elevator reached to the fourth floor, a man in a business suit and glasses came in. I said hi and walked out. But he called me back and said that it was not first floor yet. He must had noticed the button I had pushed. I walked back in the elevator. He smiled at me before answering a phone call. Kyuhyun's "A Million Pieces" ringtone bursted out from his Samsung phone and it hit me like a rock. Was it just me of was it Kyuhyun's DAD was in the elevator...with me????
OMG! I'm such an idiot! What is wrong with my eyes??? And brain???
I didn't talked to him because he was on the phone till he walked out of the elevator and off the building. T.T
But seeing his parents showing these little gestures off camera...I can see why Kyuhyun is lucky enough to have such a wonderful, supportive family. ^.^
Sigh...tough luck huh...even though Kyuhyun was obviously not there because he has a busy schedule ahead of him, I still hoped that I could at least take a picture with Kyuhyun's parents..but in the end...I didn't...</3
Oh well...hopefully I can come again next year, Because the atmosphere of the cafe was just warm and inviting that I wanna come over often! I'm not even kidding!
Anyway...I'm glad that I've done the fan project and again, I hope that it'll be in Kyuhyun Oppa's hands.
I've visited the cafe...and I'm happy. :)
You can share this story if you want, btw. XD
Wednesday, 6 July 2016
Modern Prince (Chapter 4: Care For Some Soju?)
Modern Prince
Written By: Michele Hii
Chapter 4: Care For Some Soju?
Chapter 3 recap: Phelia forced Joo Yoon to get into her house. Joo Yoon only wanted sikhye from his new chef which was the girl he encountered in the first chapter of Phelia's story but Phelia decided to give him a taste of her own homemade sikhye. As soon as she was about to present him a bowl, he was fast asleep. Leaving the bowl of dessert in the fridge and driving her way to Madame Cyprine's store, she hoped that she would be given a hopeful answer to bring Joo Yoon back into the story. However, she found out that the only way was to finish the story and keep the prince away from her activities. As she went out of the store, she bumped into Jordan...
"There you are! How come you didn't answer my calls?" Jordan asked.
"Huh?"
"I've called you five times, but you didn't picked up."
I quickly pulled out my phone and saw missed calls flashed on the screen.
"Where the hell were you, Phelia?" he frowned. He crossed his arms and looked at me with an icy blue glare.
"I...uh...I was at home...and then I came here." I stammered.
"Came here for what?"
"Just to see Madame Cyprine." I took a step backward, wanting to run away before he attacked me with more questions.
"Phelia, I know there's something else. Please, can you tell me?" he asked, fixing his gaze on me.
"Huh?"
"I've called you five times, but you didn't picked up."
I quickly pulled out my phone and saw missed calls flashed on the screen.
"Where the hell were you, Phelia?" he frowned. He crossed his arms and looked at me with an icy blue glare.
"I...uh...I was at home...and then I came here." I stammered.
"Came here for what?"
"Just to see Madame Cyprine." I took a step backward, wanting to run away before he attacked me with more questions.
"Phelia, I know there's something else. Please, can you tell me?" he asked, fixing his gaze on me.
What should I do??? I was so distracted by this whole Joo Yoon situation that I hadn't checked my phone since I pulled him out of the mental hospital. I wouldn't want to expose him to anybody, including my close friend, Jordan. Besides, Joo Yoon was not a real human. He's a fiction character. He's only brought alive by magic, and he shouldn't be known by the world or be involved in anything here.
Jordan's lips were in a thin hyphen. I swore I could hear the persuasive speeches from the angel and the devil in my ears.
Angel: Tell him the truth! He's your friend right?
Devil: No! Tell him that you're just looking for something else! He's probably jealous because you take the prince with you.
Angel: You've known Jordan since college. He can help you with your problem.
Devil: Oh please! He warns you not to buy that magic notebook in the first place. He's annoying. You can handle this on your own, right?
Argh...what the heck...
"Okay fine...it's Joo Yoon. He's actually telling the truth."
"Ah yes..that lunatic we took him to the mental hospital?"
"He's not a lunatic. He's actually a fiction character."
"A fiction character eh? Then how come he's human?" Jordan raised his eyebrow.
I shoved my notebook right into his face, "Because of this."
He pushed the notebook down and looked at me with a confused look, "Can you be more specific? It looked like someone accidentally added a shot of espresso into your drink back at the cafe."
"Well remember when I bought this notebook and Madame Cyprine said that it's a magic notebook?"
"Yeah, and I warned you that it's expensive."
"Not helping!" I snapped.
"Hey! I'm listening!"
"Anyway, I wrote a story in it and I wished that the prince in my story would come to life. And guess what? He's the man in the hanbok! The notebook has cast a spell on my story!"
"So you're saying that the notebook has magically transformed your 'prince' into a man and...what else? What are you gonna do about it?"
"Well," I clutched the notebook on one arm and my other extended to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear, "Madame Cyprine said that all I have to do is to not let the prince to be involved in this world. Get him away from human activities and events. The only memories he has are from my story. If he creates new memories here in LA, he'll be in big trouble...and so will I..."
"Wow! That's a lot to take in!"
"And the worst part is that in order to get him back into the story for good, I have to finish writing it..." I sighed, "There! Happy?"
"I am, and I want to help."
"Well...if you want to help, then come with me."
* * *
"You just left him in the house?" Jordan exclaimed once we arrived.
"So? There's no other way! He fell asleep right before he was about to eat."
Once we went through the door, the coach was empty and the blanket was dropped on the wooden floor.
"Joo Yoon? Your Majesty?" I called.
CRASH!
"What the hell?" I gasped.
"Did someone broke into your house?" Jordan's eyes widened.
We charged into the kitchen and saw him standing close to the cupboard at the top left corner. In his right hand was a half-broken pearly white Corelle plate. He stared right back at me and tossed the broken half into the sink like he's making a basketball goal. Another loud crash was heard as I pictured the glass shattered into cookie chips.
"Doesn't that kind of plates cost you more than a hundred dollars?" Jordan whispered.
I just stood there, deadpanned.
"Ahem!" Joo Yoon cleared his throat, "Servants, clean this up please!"
Jordan and I kept on staring at him. The prince tried again, "I say, clean this up please!"
"What are you talking about?" I spoke, "You're the one who made this mess, so you should clean it up."
"Princes don't do cleaning. Servants do." he sniffed.
Why you little...
"Phelia, just do it." Jordan nudged me.
"What? Why?" I turned back to hiss at him.
"He doesn't want to clean up, so you should do it. Besides, you're the one who bought the plates."
I glared at him but I found myself doing it.
"I better made him do chores in the second chapter." I mumbled. As I got up, I spotted an empty glass buried in the broken pieces of the other half of the plate in the sink. Well at least he drank my sikhye.
* * *
*
Chef of Sun Yang
Written by: Phelia Song
Chapter 2
The prince finished the last drop of Soju from his shot glass. He was about to put it down when suddenly...
"Oh no!" a cry made the new chef jump. She turned back to see the prince standing in front of broken China.
"That's the third time someone broke a plate since I work here." she shook her head.
The prince said nothing. He watched innocently at her kneeling down to clean up the mess. As he was about to leave, he felt someone grabbed his hand.
"Where do you think you're going, Your Majesty?" she barked. Her eyes were like fiery coals that sent shivers to his spine.
"T...to the throne?" he stammered.
"You may be royalty, but you need to do what's right." she said, pointing at the shattered pieces.
"You want me to pick up these?"
"You're the one who broke it! So you should clean this up!"
"But I don't know how!"
"You've got to be kidding me." she rolled her eyes. She then held a triangular piece, "See? You can gently hold the glass like this and throw them into the garbage can here. Just be careful though. Don't touch the sharp edges."
The prince reached his hand and slowly picked up a smaller piece. He then dropped it into the can.
"Like this?"
"Yeah! There you go!" she smiled.
The prince smiled back. He suddenly felt his cheeks grew warm. Even his heart was pounding.
Still, he continued on. There was this strange feeling that stirred within Joo Yoon. He peeked at her velvety soft black hair and her serious but gentle face. He wondered if it was alright to know her more.
"There! Done!" she smiled, tossing the last piece.
"That's...kind of fun." the prince blushed. He suddenly noticed a bleeding scar on her left wrist.
"Omo! Y...your hand!" he gasped.
"Oh!" she immediately ripped off a piece of cloth from the kitchen cupboard and covered it onto the blood.
"I'll call the doctor now."
"No, it's fine. I can just rub ointment my mom got for me and then I'll put a bandage."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Don't worry about me." she smiled and walked off.
"Wait!" he called out, "I realized that I haven't got your name."
The girl turned back and smiled again, "I can't tell you my name, Your Majesty."
"Why?"
She held onto the frame of the door and replied, "'I'll tell you later, but not today."
The prince watched her walking away. He placed the can at the corner and headed to the throne. For the first time ever, he couldn't get the girl out of his head.
I'll talk to her more...hopefully soon, he thought.
*
Alright! I've finished writing the second chapter!
I placed my pen down and stretched my arms. Suddenly, I heard a yawn and a rustle of the bedspread behind me.
"You're still up?" Joo Yoon asked.
"Yeah." I nodded, "Can't sleep well huh?"
"I woke up like five minutes ago but I can 't fall back to sleep."
"Hmm..." I looked at my right where a plastic bag filled with a couple of green bottles sat near my handbag, "Your Majesty?"
"Yes?"
"Do you drink Soju?"
"Soju? Well I remember I drank it before I broke a plate. Wow, that was the second time I broke a plate."
I chuckled, and grabbed both things, "Come on! Let's go!"
"Go? Go where?" the prince asked in surprise.
"To relax." I winked.
* * *
"What is this place?" the prince asked. He squinted through the window at the empty rectangles of the parking lot. Beyond us was a lake surrounded by pine trees. I smiled at the moon that cast its silvery shadow on the waters below.
"Hello?" he waved his hand in front of me.
"Oh! We're in Rosewood Park."
"Park? What's a park?"
"It's like a backyard but bigger." I unbuckled my seat belt.
"How so?"
"Well, you can jog around, play fetch with your dog, and play Frisbee. Basically you can get some fresh air here."
"I've...never heard of those things before."
"Don't you do those things when you were little?"
"I...uh...I can't remember. I can't think of any childhood memories."
Oh right...I haven't included any young memories of him.
"The only things I remember are when I hire my new chef and...I also know that I started to have strange feelings of her when I picked up broken pieces of a plate I broke." he stared straight ahead, "I wonder why I have such limited memories."
Because you're a fictional character. You just don't know that.
"Well..what are we doing here anyway? How are we supposed to relax here? It's dark and deserted."
"That's the best part." I winked as I handed him a bottle of soju, "When no one's around, you can have all the peace and quiet. It's like a remedy, you know."
"That sounds boring." he pouted.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm a prince." he said as he gripped hold on the bottle cap to pull it out, "I'm not allowed to go outside of the palace. I don't even have memories of going out."
I tried not to giggle as I watched him struggling with the metal circle.
"Why is this so tight?" he groaned.
"Here." I put out my hand.
He looked at me blankly, "Huh?"
"Give me your bottle." I said.
He did as he told, and I twisted the cap and opened it with ease.
"H...how did you do that?" he exclaimed.
"Strength. And also practice." I winked, handing him the opened wine.
"Wow, you're lucky. I usually have my servants to open the bottles for me." he remarked.
I opened mine and took a big gulp. Oddly, I didn't hear him chugging his. I stopped and looked at him, "Aren't you gonna drink it?"
Joo Yoon stared at the scenery gloomily. His pale fingers wrapped around the bottle's neck. From the dull hues in his eyes, I could tell he's thinking of something negative.
"Your Majesty, is something the matter?"
He settled his bottle on his knee and sighed, "I feel like...I'm in the midst of two worlds."
He finally drank a bit before sighing again, "I only have memories from a week or so in Sun Yang, and then I'm...stuck here in this strange city, this strange era."
"You mean, Los Angeles?" I chipped in, gulping another shot.
"Yeah whatever that is...I don't know why I'm here. I wonder if the sun gods send me here for a purpose."
I stared down at my blue Toms as I waited for him to finish his second gulp of the alcoholic drink. I felt sorry for him...and guilty too. When would be the time for me to tell him the truth? Never? He's the lost puppy here!
"I just...don't know what I'm supposed to do here." he continued.
"Your Majesty, maybe you have...uh...something or someone in your life that you are interested in?"
"Hmm..." he drank more and thought for a moment, "You know the new chef I've told you about?"
"Yeah, I remember." I nodded as I took in another dose of the drink.
I immediately noticed red blush automatically painted his cheeks. He got drunk that fast?
"When I'm around her, I feel like my heart goes mad. I wanted to tell her this feeling but I had many doubts just thinking of doing it." he explained, "I just don't know how to show it to her."
I nodded and took in some more. My head spun a little and my eyes felt heavy, but I fixed my gaze on him, "You know what you have to do?"
"What?" he slurred.
"Spill it. Tell her how you feel like a real man." I replied, "and when she said yes, you have to make a move."
"Make a move?" he drank some more, "What do you mean by that?"
"Uh...you know...hold her hand or give her a hug or...kiss her." I chugged my bottle.
"Well...that might be a problem." he groaned, "I don't know how to do those kind of gestures."
"Your Majes...Majestyyy..." I started to feel tongue-tied, "It's n...not...as hard...as y...you think."
"Really?"
"Yeah...here....let m...me show you how...it's...done."
I dropped my bottle near the pedals and cupped my hand on his left cheek. Suddenly, I leaned forward and smooched right on his lips. I let go three seconds later. He looked stunned at first before nodding sleepily with a smile, "Ahhhh...I get it now."
"See?" I showed a thumbs-up, "It's not...so bad right?"
"I'll do it when I see her next time." he replied.
"Well, I wish you all the best." I raised my bottle.
"Thanks...uh...I don't know your name...silly me..." he hiccuped.
"Phelia." I replied.
"Phelia...that's a pretty name." he giggled.
"Why thank you, Joo Yoon." I laughed.
We clinked our bottles and continued on drinking. When we reached our last drop, I suddenly saw a realm of darkness. I couldn't even remember anything.
Sunday, 3 July 2016
Modern Prince (Chapter 3: Overwhelmed)
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.
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.
Friday, 17 June 2016
Modern Prince (Chapter 2: Single Forever?)
Chapter 1 recap: Jordan convinced Phelia to take a break from work. They drove to get iced drinks and took a walk down an unknown alley which led them to a magic store owned by a mysterious saleswoman, Madame Cyprine. Phelia returned home after work and she immediately started writing the first chapter of her new fiction entitled "Chef of Sun Yang" about a spoiled prince who, for the first time ever, got satisfied by a traditional Korean dessert called Sikhye made by a unexpected visitor who was then hired to become the next royal chef.
Modern Prince
Written by: Michele Hii
Chapter 2: Single Forever?
I killed the engine of my blue Ford Escape. I stared at the cloudy sky for a moment before getting a text from Jordan.
Jordan: Sorry! I'm still stuck in traffic! Jz give me 5 more min!
Me: Ok, I'll wait in my car.
Cloudy days made me think about my past. A flashback of my college days automatically came to me.
"Do you think we can make it?" a 20-years-old Jordan Matthews asked.
"Huh?" I looked from my mess of papers on the table.
"You know...that we'll be working for Disney."
"Jordan, we just need to have confidence! Like they said, a dream is a wish your heart makes." I smiled reassuringly.
"I know, I know...but Disney is a top-notch company. And we're just...college students."
"Jordan, we'll have to go through a lot more before we can make it happen." I sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"You can't possibly get what you wanted instantly. After we graduate, we might have to go through a few jobs first,somewhere lower than Disney, before we can be recognized to be a part of Disney. Who knows, we might end up being janitors at the basement, or mail people for the staff."
"Inspired by Monsters' University, huh?" Jordan giggled.
"My point is...we at least have to land somewhere before we can go forward to a higher position, and eventually reach to our dream career. Look at Mike and Sulley! They got kicked out of university and ended up being mail workers, but then one day they got offered honorary positions to become scarers! We can be just like them!"
Jordan laughed some more, but his eyes were glued to the scribbles of our script-in-progress.
"One day...just one day..our story about our dear character finding the magic key that can unlock the sacred chamber of an abandoned kingdom...will be turned into a Disney film, right?"
I smiled wider and pat on his shoulder, "You're absolutely right! Besides,the reason why we major film and animation here in UCLA is to learn and master the skills that will be needy for our dream workplace."
Jordan smiled back,"You and your motivational speech. Somehow I think you've watched a little way too much Disney movies."
"Hey!" I snapped, pushing him gently with my left hand, "You're a Disney freak too, that's how we become close friends since first semester."
"Yeah yeah I know." he winked.
"Phelia? Phelia? Phelia!" a familiar voice muffled from the window followed by knocking sounds on the window. I turned to my side and saw Jordan making the loudest noise as possible to wake me up from my nostalgic ride.
"There you are, Mr. Snail." I teased.
* * *
"All right! So one iced Vanilla latte and one roasted bubble milk tea. That'll be $7.35 please." the girl at the counter said.
Jordan was about to pull out his wallet when I quickly shoved my credit card right in front of his face.
"Nu-uh! It's my turn to pay!" I said.
"You sure?"Jordan raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, besides you've paid for mine yesterday."
"That's fair." he smiled, "Unless I don't have to go through the pay-the-bill fights with your sisters."
"That's the Asian way of settling the bill." I laughed, We're influenced by my Korean father and Chinese mother, so we pretty much either do rock-paper-scissors or tug-of-war with the bill holder."
"Ah...I see." Jordan chuckled.
We sat by the window and took a long first sip of our drinks. It was a good thing the workers had pulled down the blinds. I wouldn't want to be toasted again by the sun's rays.
"So...have you found him yet?" Jordan asked.
I hated when he popped that question. Every single time!He had been to a lot of dates and he dumped a couple of his girlfriends back when we went to college together. He even introduced me to his guy friends but they were all not my type. One of them wanted to be a circus clown. I wasn't down for that. If I had to give you a better reason, that would be because...none of them stirred me. None of his friends interested me. I guessed I couldn't find my kind of guy in this world.
""Nope." I bluntly answered, "Why do you even ask?"
"I'm just asking." he shrugged, "I hate seeing you being lonely."
"What are you talking about? I have my family here in LA, and of course you."
"I mean, I hate seeing you being single."
"Jordan..." I sighed as I sipped my drink to stop talking.
Jordan fiddled with his phone for forty seconds before shoving a picture of a new guy on the screen right in front of me, "I've made friends with this new guy at the golf club. He's from London and..."
I grabbed his hand and pushed it down so that his phone landed safely on the table, "Jordan, really, I don't need you to help me get a guy. I'll find one of my own, okay?"
"But all your life, you've been so busy with your job."
"Technically, two jobs. Animation and writing."
"Exactly! You get so distracted easily that you're lacking on your social life."
"Jordan." I laughed, "It's okay. I'm okay being single. I just haven'e found him yet. You know, someday my prince will come."
Jordan took a big gulp of his boba before suddenly looking at me with a serious face, "What kind of guys do you like?"
"I thought I've already told you many times." I replied, "I like guys who are awkward, humble, and funny."
Jordan took another long sip before looking back at me, "What about me?"
"Huh?"
"Am I...awkward, humble, and funny?"
My mouth formed into an 'O' for a few seconds, "Well...sort of..."
"What do you mean...sort of?"
"What? Are you saying I should give you a try?" I blurted.
And then, I saw something out of his character. His cheeks were red.
"Jordan, I..."
PLOP!
Suddenly, the atmosphere of the cafe grew tensed. I turned my back and saw a man lying motionlessly on the floor near the counter.
"Oh my gosh! Somebody fainted!" I gasped.
"Hurry!" Jordan said and rushed to the victim. I followed after him and knelt down. I held one finger under the man's nose and leaned my face on one side close to his.
"He's not breathing." I frowned.
"I wonder why is he wearing this costume." Jordan commented, "It's pretty hot in LA."
"Quick, loosen and unbutton his Hanbok." I ordered.
"Hanbok?"
"The outfit he's wearing. The top consists of thick layers so you have to remove them."
"I'm on it." he nodded and searched for the ribbons to untie and the buttons to open. I helped him removed the outer jacket as well as the inner layers except for a white long-sleeve undershirt.
"He's still not breathing." I checked, "I think I have to do CPR."
I was about to inhale deeply when suddenly a jet of water splashed onto the man's face. I looked up and saw Jordan holding an overturned coffee cup.
"What the heck?" I snapped. I was interrupted by the sudden coughs coming below me. The man opened his eyes and looked at me blankly, "What happened?"
"You fainted, sir." I replied. I hurriedly grabbed a napkin from a customer's table and handed it to him.
"Ah,,,I see,,,thank you." he cleared his throat. As he was about to get up, he stared at his opened clothes in surprise,
"What happened to my hanbok?" he gasped. He immediately covered himself with his layers.
"We had to unbutton your clothes, sir, otherwise we won't be able to save you from breathing." Jordan explained.
"You dumped a cup of water onto him!" I hissed.
"Hey! At least it worked!" Jordan smirked.
The man buttoned back his clothes and stood up with his face wiped dry.
"Thank you, peasants, for saving me. Now if you excuse me," he tugged the collar of his magoja (outer jacket of his hanbok), "I have to go back to my kingdom."
"Kingdom?" a customer raised his eyebrow.
"What the hell is he talking about?" another one snickered.
"Anyone knows where is the way to Sun Yang kingdom?" he raised his voice.
I froze. Sun Yang...that sounds familiar!
Jordan suddenly pat him on the shoulder, "Sir, I think you hit your head pretty hard on the floor so we're taking you to the mental hospital."
"What's a mental hospital? Is that where a witch doctor works at?" the man cocked his head to one side.
"Witch doctor? Wow, sir, you sure have woken up from a very long dream!" Jordan threw his head back as he laughed.
"Jordan, maybe I should just take him home." I chipped in.
"But he's talking thrash, Phelia." Jordan argued, "Trust me, he needs to get back to his senses."
Stupidly, I had nothing else to say but to follow him dragging this poor, lost puppy to the nearest psychiatric institution.
* * *
Wait, how does he know about Sun Yang?
I watched from behind as the man walked beside Jordan. His head turned here and there, looking like a little boy wandering around the world for the first time.
Did he peek at my notebook?
I opened my Chanel handbag to see the coal-coloured book sandwiched between my ruby wallet and my detox water bottle. He couldn't just sneak by when I talked with Jordan at the cafe. I thought he just arrived at the queue and fainted there.
Once we arrived at the mental hospital, a psychiatrist immediately took us in. His eyes went up and down at the man's blue and gold hanbok and chuckled, "Nice costume you got there. Having an early Halloween party?"
"Halloween? What in the Sun's core is that?" the prince asked.
The psychiatrist let out a laugh that even the patients at the waiting room could hear him.
"All my life, I've never heard of such a line." he hooted.
Jordan sighed and took a step forward that made the doctor jumped a little, "Mr. Hopkins, we saw that he passed out on the floor at a cafe earlier. He must have hit his head on the floor and now he thought he is a prince from an imaginary kingdom."
"Ah...that reminds me of an Archies comic when Veronica got hit in the plane's bathroom and became a cowgirl..or is it a matador...from a novel she read." Mr. Hopkins nodded.
"Does that actually exist?"
"Well, yes, to some people." he answered.
Hmm..that might be a possibility. But how does the man know about Sun Yang kingdom?
"Come! Have a seat, Mr..." Mr Hopkins paused as he looked at the man, "What's your name?"
"Joo Yoon, prince of Sun Yang." he sniffed.
J...Joo Yoon?
"Okay..." Mr. Hopkins jot down a piece of line paper attached to a clipboard, "And do you remember what happened before you passed out?"
'Joo Yoon' tapped his chin and replied, "I faced 500 chefs from all of Korea and chose this girl with a special dessert to become the next royal chef. And then I went to bed. And then...the next morning, when I woke up, I found myself not on my bed but on hard cold concrete in this...strange...place. I have no wonder how did I got here. I was supposed to be in my palace."
What in the world...could it be...
I froze and remembered what Madame Cyprine from the Kaboom store told me about the notebook.
"If you write something that comes from your biggest dreams or desire, that notebook will grant your wish."
"Just be careful what you wish for, that's what I meant."
Now I remember! I wished that the character was real while writing the first chapter, and it DID happen! "Oh my gosh..." I exclaimed under my breath.
Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and strutted out of the door. Jordan had a puzzled look but he followed after us.
"Sir, did you just say...Sun Yang...kingdom? As in the kingdom of the solar sphere?" I gushed.
"Yes, exactly! Do you know where?" his face lit up.
"Where and what the hell is Sun Yang?" Jordan asked.
"It's in Korea," I answered, "but it's not what you thought it would be."
"What do you mean, peasant?" the man questioned.
"It...it's just that..," I caught Jordan staring with the same confused expression as this man in the expensive-looking traditional clothing.
"Jordan, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I said and dragged the man off to my car which was parked a few feet away.
"Wait, huh, where are you taking him? To the airport?" Jordan shouted.
"I'll call you, okay?" I yelled and pushed him into the passenger seat of my car. I didn't even look back at him because my head was clouded with panic.
"What is this?" the man turned his head here and there in shock.
"Just hold on tight." I replied, reaching out to help him with the seat belt. He looked as if he couldn't breath with the strap over his chest. I started the engine and drove off, hoping to get to my house as soon as possible.
Modern Prince
Written by: Michele Hii
Chapter 2: Single Forever?
I killed the engine of my blue Ford Escape. I stared at the cloudy sky for a moment before getting a text from Jordan.
Jordan: Sorry! I'm still stuck in traffic! Jz give me 5 more min!
Me: Ok, I'll wait in my car.
Cloudy days made me think about my past. A flashback of my college days automatically came to me.
"Do you think we can make it?" a 20-years-old Jordan Matthews asked.
"Huh?" I looked from my mess of papers on the table.
"You know...that we'll be working for Disney."
"Jordan, we just need to have confidence! Like they said, a dream is a wish your heart makes." I smiled reassuringly.
"I know, I know...but Disney is a top-notch company. And we're just...college students."
"Jordan, we'll have to go through a lot more before we can make it happen." I sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"You can't possibly get what you wanted instantly. After we graduate, we might have to go through a few jobs first,somewhere lower than Disney, before we can be recognized to be a part of Disney. Who knows, we might end up being janitors at the basement, or mail people for the staff."
"Inspired by Monsters' University, huh?" Jordan giggled.
"My point is...we at least have to land somewhere before we can go forward to a higher position, and eventually reach to our dream career. Look at Mike and Sulley! They got kicked out of university and ended up being mail workers, but then one day they got offered honorary positions to become scarers! We can be just like them!"
Jordan laughed some more, but his eyes were glued to the scribbles of our script-in-progress.
"One day...just one day..our story about our dear character finding the magic key that can unlock the sacred chamber of an abandoned kingdom...will be turned into a Disney film, right?"
I smiled wider and pat on his shoulder, "You're absolutely right! Besides,the reason why we major film and animation here in UCLA is to learn and master the skills that will be needy for our dream workplace."
Jordan smiled back,"You and your motivational speech. Somehow I think you've watched a little way too much Disney movies."
"Hey!" I snapped, pushing him gently with my left hand, "You're a Disney freak too, that's how we become close friends since first semester."
"Yeah yeah I know." he winked.
"Phelia? Phelia? Phelia!" a familiar voice muffled from the window followed by knocking sounds on the window. I turned to my side and saw Jordan making the loudest noise as possible to wake me up from my nostalgic ride.
"There you are, Mr. Snail." I teased.
* * *
"All right! So one iced Vanilla latte and one roasted bubble milk tea. That'll be $7.35 please." the girl at the counter said.
Jordan was about to pull out his wallet when I quickly shoved my credit card right in front of his face.
"Nu-uh! It's my turn to pay!" I said.
"You sure?"Jordan raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, besides you've paid for mine yesterday."
"That's fair." he smiled, "Unless I don't have to go through the pay-the-bill fights with your sisters."
"That's the Asian way of settling the bill." I laughed, We're influenced by my Korean father and Chinese mother, so we pretty much either do rock-paper-scissors or tug-of-war with the bill holder."
"Ah...I see." Jordan chuckled.
We sat by the window and took a long first sip of our drinks. It was a good thing the workers had pulled down the blinds. I wouldn't want to be toasted again by the sun's rays.
"So...have you found him yet?" Jordan asked.
I hated when he popped that question. Every single time!He had been to a lot of dates and he dumped a couple of his girlfriends back when we went to college together. He even introduced me to his guy friends but they were all not my type. One of them wanted to be a circus clown. I wasn't down for that. If I had to give you a better reason, that would be because...none of them stirred me. None of his friends interested me. I guessed I couldn't find my kind of guy in this world.
""Nope." I bluntly answered, "Why do you even ask?"
"I'm just asking." he shrugged, "I hate seeing you being lonely."
"What are you talking about? I have my family here in LA, and of course you."
"I mean, I hate seeing you being single."
"Jordan..." I sighed as I sipped my drink to stop talking.
Jordan fiddled with his phone for forty seconds before shoving a picture of a new guy on the screen right in front of me, "I've made friends with this new guy at the golf club. He's from London and..."
I grabbed his hand and pushed it down so that his phone landed safely on the table, "Jordan, really, I don't need you to help me get a guy. I'll find one of my own, okay?"
"But all your life, you've been so busy with your job."
"Technically, two jobs. Animation and writing."
"Exactly! You get so distracted easily that you're lacking on your social life."
"Jordan." I laughed, "It's okay. I'm okay being single. I just haven'e found him yet. You know, someday my prince will come."
Jordan took a big gulp of his boba before suddenly looking at me with a serious face, "What kind of guys do you like?"
"I thought I've already told you many times." I replied, "I like guys who are awkward, humble, and funny."
Jordan took another long sip before looking back at me, "What about me?"
"Huh?"
"Am I...awkward, humble, and funny?"
My mouth formed into an 'O' for a few seconds, "Well...sort of..."
"What do you mean...sort of?"
"What? Are you saying I should give you a try?" I blurted.
And then, I saw something out of his character. His cheeks were red.
"Jordan, I..."
PLOP!
Suddenly, the atmosphere of the cafe grew tensed. I turned my back and saw a man lying motionlessly on the floor near the counter.
"Oh my gosh! Somebody fainted!" I gasped.
"Hurry!" Jordan said and rushed to the victim. I followed after him and knelt down. I held one finger under the man's nose and leaned my face on one side close to his.
"He's not breathing." I frowned.
"I wonder why is he wearing this costume." Jordan commented, "It's pretty hot in LA."
"Quick, loosen and unbutton his Hanbok." I ordered.
"Hanbok?"
"The outfit he's wearing. The top consists of thick layers so you have to remove them."
"I'm on it." he nodded and searched for the ribbons to untie and the buttons to open. I helped him removed the outer jacket as well as the inner layers except for a white long-sleeve undershirt.
"He's still not breathing." I checked, "I think I have to do CPR."
I was about to inhale deeply when suddenly a jet of water splashed onto the man's face. I looked up and saw Jordan holding an overturned coffee cup.
"What the heck?" I snapped. I was interrupted by the sudden coughs coming below me. The man opened his eyes and looked at me blankly, "What happened?"
"You fainted, sir." I replied. I hurriedly grabbed a napkin from a customer's table and handed it to him.
"Ah,,,I see,,,thank you." he cleared his throat. As he was about to get up, he stared at his opened clothes in surprise,
"What happened to my hanbok?" he gasped. He immediately covered himself with his layers.
"We had to unbutton your clothes, sir, otherwise we won't be able to save you from breathing." Jordan explained.
"You dumped a cup of water onto him!" I hissed.
"Hey! At least it worked!" Jordan smirked.
The man buttoned back his clothes and stood up with his face wiped dry.
"Thank you, peasants, for saving me. Now if you excuse me," he tugged the collar of his magoja (outer jacket of his hanbok), "I have to go back to my kingdom."
"Kingdom?" a customer raised his eyebrow.
"What the hell is he talking about?" another one snickered.
"Anyone knows where is the way to Sun Yang kingdom?" he raised his voice.
I froze. Sun Yang...that sounds familiar!
Jordan suddenly pat him on the shoulder, "Sir, I think you hit your head pretty hard on the floor so we're taking you to the mental hospital."
"What's a mental hospital? Is that where a witch doctor works at?" the man cocked his head to one side.
"Witch doctor? Wow, sir, you sure have woken up from a very long dream!" Jordan threw his head back as he laughed.
"Jordan, maybe I should just take him home." I chipped in.
"But he's talking thrash, Phelia." Jordan argued, "Trust me, he needs to get back to his senses."
Stupidly, I had nothing else to say but to follow him dragging this poor, lost puppy to the nearest psychiatric institution.
* * *
Wait, how does he know about Sun Yang?
I watched from behind as the man walked beside Jordan. His head turned here and there, looking like a little boy wandering around the world for the first time.
Did he peek at my notebook?
I opened my Chanel handbag to see the coal-coloured book sandwiched between my ruby wallet and my detox water bottle. He couldn't just sneak by when I talked with Jordan at the cafe. I thought he just arrived at the queue and fainted there.
Once we arrived at the mental hospital, a psychiatrist immediately took us in. His eyes went up and down at the man's blue and gold hanbok and chuckled, "Nice costume you got there. Having an early Halloween party?"
"Halloween? What in the Sun's core is that?" the prince asked.
The psychiatrist let out a laugh that even the patients at the waiting room could hear him.
"All my life, I've never heard of such a line." he hooted.
Jordan sighed and took a step forward that made the doctor jumped a little, "Mr. Hopkins, we saw that he passed out on the floor at a cafe earlier. He must have hit his head on the floor and now he thought he is a prince from an imaginary kingdom."
"Ah...that reminds me of an Archies comic when Veronica got hit in the plane's bathroom and became a cowgirl..or is it a matador...from a novel she read." Mr. Hopkins nodded.
"Does that actually exist?"
"Well, yes, to some people." he answered.
Hmm..that might be a possibility. But how does the man know about Sun Yang kingdom?
"Come! Have a seat, Mr..." Mr Hopkins paused as he looked at the man, "What's your name?"
"Joo Yoon, prince of Sun Yang." he sniffed.
J...Joo Yoon?
"Okay..." Mr. Hopkins jot down a piece of line paper attached to a clipboard, "And do you remember what happened before you passed out?"
'Joo Yoon' tapped his chin and replied, "I faced 500 chefs from all of Korea and chose this girl with a special dessert to become the next royal chef. And then I went to bed. And then...the next morning, when I woke up, I found myself not on my bed but on hard cold concrete in this...strange...place. I have no wonder how did I got here. I was supposed to be in my palace."
What in the world...could it be...
I froze and remembered what Madame Cyprine from the Kaboom store told me about the notebook.
"If you write something that comes from your biggest dreams or desire, that notebook will grant your wish."
"Just be careful what you wish for, that's what I meant."
Now I remember! I wished that the character was real while writing the first chapter, and it DID happen! "Oh my gosh..." I exclaimed under my breath.
Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and strutted out of the door. Jordan had a puzzled look but he followed after us.
"Sir, did you just say...Sun Yang...kingdom? As in the kingdom of the solar sphere?" I gushed.
"Yes, exactly! Do you know where?" his face lit up.
"Where and what the hell is Sun Yang?" Jordan asked.
"It's in Korea," I answered, "but it's not what you thought it would be."
"What do you mean, peasant?" the man questioned.
"It...it's just that..," I caught Jordan staring with the same confused expression as this man in the expensive-looking traditional clothing.
"Jordan, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I said and dragged the man off to my car which was parked a few feet away.
"Wait, huh, where are you taking him? To the airport?" Jordan shouted.
"I'll call you, okay?" I yelled and pushed him into the passenger seat of my car. I didn't even look back at him because my head was clouded with panic.
"What is this?" the man turned his head here and there in shock.
"Just hold on tight." I replied, reaching out to help him with the seat belt. He looked as if he couldn't breath with the strap over his chest. I started the engine and drove off, hoping to get to my house as soon as possible.
Friday, 10 June 2016
Modern Prince (Chapter 1: Madame Cyprine)
Author's note: Hey all! After writing the "Elphena" fan fiction, I never knew that I'll get inspired to write another fiction again. After watching Kyuhyun's drama "Bong Soon, A Cyborg in Love", the story inspires me to write this. "That's it! I have to write this story! Instead of a cyborg/technology, what if a person falls in love with a fiction character that is turned into a real human?" I thought. And after drawing out a 12-notebook page-outline (one chapter per page), I'm even more excited to write this new fiction! I'll try to finish it by the end of this summer. There's no way to finish it by the end of this month because I have plans coming up, and I still haven't finished my Japanese revision, I feel so bad right now! XD But...nothing can stop me from bringing this new story alive. :) So...hope you enjoy this new fiction!
Modern Prince
Written by: Michele Hii
Chapter 1: Madame Cyprine
I dropped my hands from the Macbook Pro keyboard and stretched my arms while I yawned like a lion. It was 3pm and I still had scenes to draw and colour on my computer. Sigh...if only I could have slept early night, I would have a fresher mind to finish these few animation frames.
"Hey, Phelia!" a familiar voice approached from the door. I turned back and saw a skinny man in a white buttoned-up shirt and tight black jeans that made his figure scrawnier than before. He pulled a smirk as a couch cushion flew up from his hands like he was throwing a grenade.It landed right on my face.
"What was that for?" I laughed as I nestled the pillow down on my lap.
"To wake you up, silly." he laughed back.
"Really, Jordan." I rolled my eyes but smiled back.
My old college mate and director of our new Disney's Pixar film project, "The Sapphire Key", grabbed a spare chair and sat next to me,"So how are the frames going?"
"Pretty good, I guess. There's still a lot of layers to be added in this scene."
"What scene?" he craned his neck and he looked closer to the computer screen,"Ah! When the boy retrieve the key."
"Yeah, it's hard to add the sparkle around the key."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're an animator after all." he smiled.
"Thanks."
"Anyway, you've been here for five hours. You should go for a break."
"I'd love to,but I've got to finish these."
"Phelia, as a director, I would be happy to hear that. But as a friend, I hate seeing you working too hard with sleep deprivation."
"Mmm...maybe you're right."
"Wanna go for a short walk in the city? We can pick up some iced drinks on the way."
"Sounds good." I got up and grabbed my purse.
"All right! Let's go!"
The colourful campus brought life to my eyes as we walked down the corridor. Glass shelves with big collections of action figures and dolls from all of our movies were arranged neatly at both sides. Once we went down to ground floor, we were greeted by character statues, from Nemo to Sheriff Woody to Sadness. A group of staff were around a ring of couches playing a Truth or Dare game. They waved as they spotted us.
As we arrived at the parking lot of the studio, I skipped to his black Subaru.
"Shotgun!" I grinned as I stopped to the door of the front passenger seat.
"Why do you have to say it? It's just two of us." Jordan laughed.
"I know. I just like saying it and I love sitting in front." I giggled.
"You're still weird as usual." Jordan laughed and got in behind the wheel.
* * *
"You don't have to pay for my Oreo slush, Jordan." I frowned. We walked down a narrow alley with our hands numb by our iced drinks. I wondered why did we came to this part of the street. I had been living here in Emeryville, California for four years now, yet I had never discovered this area before. It was quiet and slightly dilapidated, with an uneven walkway and a smoky odour that smelt like incense from a Chinese temple. Still, we kept on walking until we passed by a store on our left. It was painted in mint green with bold stickers on a slightly cloudy window that said "Kaboom".
"Kaboom? What is this? A magic store?" Jordan snickered.
"It looks like one." I peeked through the window, "I see crystal balls and worn-out-looking thick books and oh...flying brooms!"
"What the hell..." Jordan murmured but he squinted to see the things arranged on the shelves.
"I want to take a look!" I suggested, "There's a lot of unique stores like this in Hollywood but not here in this small city."
"Are you crazy?" Jordan asked, looking surprised, "Why do you even wanna go in?"
"Why not?" I shrugged, "Plus, work doesn't end till 8pm today so I want to be energized before working on the animation again."
"Okay...okay fine..." he sighed and opened the door. A tiny bell that hung above the other side of the door tinged.
"Welcome!" a lady who looked like in her 60s greeted from the counter on the further left. Her silver hair was tied into a bun that poked from her scarlet bandanna.
"Hi!" I smiled. Jordan waved.
"Welcome to my store! Guess the magic word works the charm." she winked.
"Magic word..." I repeated before nudging Jordan on the arm, "I told you it's a magic store!"
"Why yes it is!" the lady hooted, "Spell books, wands, witch brooms, crystal balls, magic cards...this store has everything!"
"Wow!" my eyes sparkled as I looked around the shelves.
As I picked up a translucent crystal from a shelf near the counter, my peripheral vision caught the lady staring at Jordan. He had a childish scowl, and the lady decided to start a conversation with him. He replied back but his eyes were fixed on me, begging me to quickly end my wandering eyes and scram out of the store. Tsk...this guy...he didn't have a single interest in magic and enchantment.
"By the way, everyone calls me Madame Cyprine. I've been owning this store for quite a while now." the lady put out her right hand. Jordan looked at her wrinkly hand and then back into her emerald eyes. I looked at him in surprise as he refused to shake hands with her but nodded instead.
"May I ask what's your name?" she smiled again.
"Uh...Jordan." he answered.
As Madame Cyprine continued to distract him, I suddenly saw a slightly thick book sticking out from a stack of encyclopedia-size ones. Curiously, I pulled it out.
"Ah! That's a lucky notebook!"Madame Cyprine's voice was excited when she saw me taking it.
"This one?" I lifted it up.
"Oh yes!" she nodded, "If you write something that comes from your biggest dreams or desire, that notebook will grant your wish."
"Wow! Really?" I exclaimed,flipping through the semi-white pages.
"Dear, I'm telling the truth!"
"Are you really gonna buy that? It's just a notebook! Wait,how much does it costs?" Jordan asked.
"30 dollars."
"Are you serious?" his eyes widened.
"I'll take it!" I announced.
"Huh?" Jordan squeaked.
"I'll buy this notebook." I said as I walked to the counter,
"Excellent!" Madame Cyprine grinned. Her teeth flashed a brilliant white.
"Phelia, don't you think it's a little expensive?" Jordan snatched the book away from my hands.
"Hey!"
"Looks like you got a nitpicky friend here." Madame Cyprine chuckled.
"Sorry about...uh...my friend here...he's probably woke up from the wrong side of the bed this morning." I said.
"I can tell." she nodded, "Boys, eh?"
I can feel him glaring as we giggled.
I grabbed the notebook back from Jordan's grip and paid it with cash. Jordan looked at me with a hyphen formed on his lips, but I ignored. She handed me a receipt and held my hand which took me by surprise, "You can literally write anything here, my dear. However," She suddenly leaned close to my right ear which sent a chill at the back of my neck, "...someday your wish will not give you happiness." "What do you mean?" I asked. She stood back upright and answered, "Just be careful what you wish for, that's what I meant."
"Oh...okay." I nodded.
Jordan dashed out of the door without taking a glance. I waved goodbye to her as I left with the black hard cover notebook in my hands.
"Don't you find that lady a little...creepy?" Jordan asked.
"Creepy?"
"Don't you see? She's probably silently putting a spell on you to lure you to buy...that."
"Jordan...buddy...sometimes you've got to be a little open-minded." I sighed,patting him on the shoulder.
* * *
I shook my head in dismay as I noticed a few street lights that were turned off close to my house. Seriously, it had been two weeks since the street lights had gone off and not even a single person came by to fix them.
Luckily, the headlights of my car broke the darkness of the night. The garage door automatically lifted up as I parked my car safely.
I felt a strange sensation while holding the magic notebook. It was like it quietly transferred a surge of energy through my veins till it reached to my heart. I felt like I was urged to write something as soon as possible. Once I made it into my home, I immediately refilled my purple detox water bottle before heading upstairs. A story idea was instantly drawn in my head during the process.
"Maybe this would work." I agreed to myself. My mind replayed a made-up scene of my new story idea as I sat at my study desk in my room. The energy that filled my insides swelled even more when the cover of the notebook was flipped open. Grabbing one of my best fountain pens, I started writing and a smile crept on my face as I jotted down the scene in my head onto paper.
*
Chef of Sun Yang
Written by: Phelia Song
Chapter 1
"No! No...no...no...nope not even this one....ewww what the heck is this? Pig's poop?" the prince made a face as he faced each candidate.
There was still a long line of chefs, eager to win Prince Joo Yoon's heart with their best dishes in all of the kingdom of Sun Yang. However, what they hadn't found out yet,was that he was a spoiled single child of the royal family. They thought that he was a handsome,sophisticated 23-years-old man with high potential to take over the solar throne in the near future, but they had no idea how picky he was when it comes to luxury, especially food. All he cared about was finely-cooked meals, fresh from a festival feast.Ever since he was little, he was dissatisfied with the food cooked by the royal chefs hired by the emperor and empress. As the kitchen team were switched every four to five years, new meals were brought to the royal family. Everyone enjoyed every new dish except for Prince Joo Yoon. He admitted that he had different taste buds from other people. Everyone didn't understand on why Prince Joo Yoon disapproved of the taste of every food while they all agreed that the food were delicious. It was no wonder that he became as puny as his own skeleton.
Evening passed by, and he rejected every single one of the candidates with critical comments. When the hall was once again empty, Prince Joo Yoon said, "I'm not hungry. All the tasting has weakened my appetite."
"Do you maybe want to have some dessert, Your Majesty?" a soft voice suddenly appeared from the doors.
"Who's there?" he sat bolt upright with eyes the size of saucers.
Two lines of knights in sheepskin armour turned their heads sharply to the entrance and held their swords in the air. It went so quiet you could hear the wind whistling. One minute later, a fair-skinned girl wearing a long-sleeved white and pink dress tiptoed through the doors. All eyes were on her as she carried a small steel pot towards the prince.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but the chef selection has ended." he said.
"I know, and I'm really sorry, Your Majesty. I should have come earlier." she curtsied. Her strong hands gripped the handles of the pot that somehow caught the prince's attention. But he still kept a poker face.
"Shouldn't you be playing hopscotch with your siblings?" he scoffed.
The girl stared, but showed off a sweet smile,"I hope you like sikhye."
The prince raised his eyebrow, "Sikhye? What in a thousand stars is that?"
She smiled and cleared her throat, "Sikhye is a traditional Korean dessert. It's made of barley malt powder and rice."
"Sounds unpleasant."
To his surprise, she responded with a laugh. A laugh that was as sweet as bells. He stared at her as if she was unlike the 500 chefs he met earlier. A different human being.
"I believe you have not tried this famous dessert before, Your Majesty. Everyone here in Korea has tried it before!" she laughed.
Joo Yoon stared, dumbfounded.
"I'll let you have a sip,if you like, Your Majesty." she winked and fished out the pocket of her dress for a silver spoon.
"Well...I..." he mumbled. He watched in surprise as the girl gingerly walked up the stairs; her eyes watched over the liquid that wiggled on the spoon. The knights' jaw dropped as they eyed at her in fear. Luckily, the prince didn't say anything. She finally reached to the top and held the spoon towards his mouth. Her other hand was cupped down like a bowl.
"Your Majesty." she smiled. The prince suddenly found himself opening his mouth. The girl bravely slipped the drop of mystery into his mouth.
"What do you think, Your Majesty?" she asked.
Prince Joo Yoon swallowed and suddenly, he showed the same reaction when he first heard her voice from the entrance.
"Mashita!" he gasped and immediately covered his mouth with one hand. The girl was back down from the stairs and giggled softly.
The prince cleared his throat and looked back with a stoned face, "Well...I've never said this before in my life but..." he gulped, "your sikhye is...surprising."
"Glad you like it, Your Majesty." the girl smiled.
"Be at the royal kitchen by sunrise tomorrow. The servants will take care of you." he uttered.
"I'll be honoured, Your Majesty." she grinned.
Prince Joo Yoon strutted down the stairs and had a couple of knights behind him to his bedroom. He closed the doors behind him and sat on his bed.
"What just happened?" he said as he stared at the wooden floor. He couldn't stop replaying the scene in his head for what seemed like forever.
"Sikhye is a traditional Korean dessert. It's made of barley malt powder and rice." the girl's gentle voice echoed.
"Sikhye eh?" he mumbled. He was too lazy to change into his sleepwear. He just removed the thick layers of his prince clothes and threw the silk blanket over him. He dozed off as the lights were switched off minutes later.
*
"Done!" I yawned. I dropped my pen and rubbed my eyes while looking at the time on my iPhone 5S, "Wow...12:40am already? I...better get some sleep."
It seemed that the notebook had let me to write the story without stopping, like a flowing river. I went to wash up, change into a tank top and shorts, and slipped under the covers of my queen-size bed which was placed next to a side table with a copy of Super Junior's "Devil" album on it. Yeah...I know...I'm a K-pop addict. No biggie. I scrolled through social media for Super Junior updates on my phone for a good half an hour before my eyes gave up to stay awake.
Modern Prince
Written by: Michele Hii
Chapter 1: Madame Cyprine
I dropped my hands from the Macbook Pro keyboard and stretched my arms while I yawned like a lion. It was 3pm and I still had scenes to draw and colour on my computer. Sigh...if only I could have slept early night, I would have a fresher mind to finish these few animation frames.
"Hey, Phelia!" a familiar voice approached from the door. I turned back and saw a skinny man in a white buttoned-up shirt and tight black jeans that made his figure scrawnier than before. He pulled a smirk as a couch cushion flew up from his hands like he was throwing a grenade.It landed right on my face.
"What was that for?" I laughed as I nestled the pillow down on my lap.
"To wake you up, silly." he laughed back.
"Really, Jordan." I rolled my eyes but smiled back.
My old college mate and director of our new Disney's Pixar film project, "The Sapphire Key", grabbed a spare chair and sat next to me,"So how are the frames going?"
"Pretty good, I guess. There's still a lot of layers to be added in this scene."
"What scene?" he craned his neck and he looked closer to the computer screen,"Ah! When the boy retrieve the key."
"Yeah, it's hard to add the sparkle around the key."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're an animator after all." he smiled.
"Thanks."
"Anyway, you've been here for five hours. You should go for a break."
"I'd love to,but I've got to finish these."
"Phelia, as a director, I would be happy to hear that. But as a friend, I hate seeing you working too hard with sleep deprivation."
"Mmm...maybe you're right."
"Wanna go for a short walk in the city? We can pick up some iced drinks on the way."
"Sounds good." I got up and grabbed my purse.
"All right! Let's go!"
The colourful campus brought life to my eyes as we walked down the corridor. Glass shelves with big collections of action figures and dolls from all of our movies were arranged neatly at both sides. Once we went down to ground floor, we were greeted by character statues, from Nemo to Sheriff Woody to Sadness. A group of staff were around a ring of couches playing a Truth or Dare game. They waved as they spotted us.
As we arrived at the parking lot of the studio, I skipped to his black Subaru.
"Shotgun!" I grinned as I stopped to the door of the front passenger seat.
"Why do you have to say it? It's just two of us." Jordan laughed.
"I know. I just like saying it and I love sitting in front." I giggled.
"You're still weird as usual." Jordan laughed and got in behind the wheel.
* * *
"You don't have to pay for my Oreo slush, Jordan." I frowned. We walked down a narrow alley with our hands numb by our iced drinks. I wondered why did we came to this part of the street. I had been living here in Emeryville, California for four years now, yet I had never discovered this area before. It was quiet and slightly dilapidated, with an uneven walkway and a smoky odour that smelt like incense from a Chinese temple. Still, we kept on walking until we passed by a store on our left. It was painted in mint green with bold stickers on a slightly cloudy window that said "Kaboom".
"Kaboom? What is this? A magic store?" Jordan snickered.
"It looks like one." I peeked through the window, "I see crystal balls and worn-out-looking thick books and oh...flying brooms!"
"What the hell..." Jordan murmured but he squinted to see the things arranged on the shelves.
"I want to take a look!" I suggested, "There's a lot of unique stores like this in Hollywood but not here in this small city."
"Are you crazy?" Jordan asked, looking surprised, "Why do you even wanna go in?"
"Why not?" I shrugged, "Plus, work doesn't end till 8pm today so I want to be energized before working on the animation again."
"Okay...okay fine..." he sighed and opened the door. A tiny bell that hung above the other side of the door tinged.
"Welcome!" a lady who looked like in her 60s greeted from the counter on the further left. Her silver hair was tied into a bun that poked from her scarlet bandanna.
"Hi!" I smiled. Jordan waved.
"Welcome to my store! Guess the magic word works the charm." she winked.
"Magic word..." I repeated before nudging Jordan on the arm, "I told you it's a magic store!"
"Why yes it is!" the lady hooted, "Spell books, wands, witch brooms, crystal balls, magic cards...this store has everything!"
"Wow!" my eyes sparkled as I looked around the shelves.
As I picked up a translucent crystal from a shelf near the counter, my peripheral vision caught the lady staring at Jordan. He had a childish scowl, and the lady decided to start a conversation with him. He replied back but his eyes were fixed on me, begging me to quickly end my wandering eyes and scram out of the store. Tsk...this guy...he didn't have a single interest in magic and enchantment.
"By the way, everyone calls me Madame Cyprine. I've been owning this store for quite a while now." the lady put out her right hand. Jordan looked at her wrinkly hand and then back into her emerald eyes. I looked at him in surprise as he refused to shake hands with her but nodded instead.
"May I ask what's your name?" she smiled again.
"Uh...Jordan." he answered.
As Madame Cyprine continued to distract him, I suddenly saw a slightly thick book sticking out from a stack of encyclopedia-size ones. Curiously, I pulled it out.
"Ah! That's a lucky notebook!"Madame Cyprine's voice was excited when she saw me taking it.
"This one?" I lifted it up.
"Oh yes!" she nodded, "If you write something that comes from your biggest dreams or desire, that notebook will grant your wish."
"Wow! Really?" I exclaimed,flipping through the semi-white pages.
"Dear, I'm telling the truth!"
"Are you really gonna buy that? It's just a notebook! Wait,how much does it costs?" Jordan asked.
"30 dollars."
"Are you serious?" his eyes widened.
"I'll take it!" I announced.
"Huh?" Jordan squeaked.
"I'll buy this notebook." I said as I walked to the counter,
"Excellent!" Madame Cyprine grinned. Her teeth flashed a brilliant white.
"Phelia, don't you think it's a little expensive?" Jordan snatched the book away from my hands.
"Hey!"
"Looks like you got a nitpicky friend here." Madame Cyprine chuckled.
"Sorry about...uh...my friend here...he's probably woke up from the wrong side of the bed this morning." I said.
"I can tell." she nodded, "Boys, eh?"
I can feel him glaring as we giggled.
I grabbed the notebook back from Jordan's grip and paid it with cash. Jordan looked at me with a hyphen formed on his lips, but I ignored. She handed me a receipt and held my hand which took me by surprise, "You can literally write anything here, my dear. However," She suddenly leaned close to my right ear which sent a chill at the back of my neck, "...someday your wish will not give you happiness." "What do you mean?" I asked. She stood back upright and answered, "Just be careful what you wish for, that's what I meant."
"Oh...okay." I nodded.
Jordan dashed out of the door without taking a glance. I waved goodbye to her as I left with the black hard cover notebook in my hands.
"Don't you find that lady a little...creepy?" Jordan asked.
"Creepy?"
"Don't you see? She's probably silently putting a spell on you to lure you to buy...that."
"Jordan...buddy...sometimes you've got to be a little open-minded." I sighed,patting him on the shoulder.
* * *
I shook my head in dismay as I noticed a few street lights that were turned off close to my house. Seriously, it had been two weeks since the street lights had gone off and not even a single person came by to fix them.
Luckily, the headlights of my car broke the darkness of the night. The garage door automatically lifted up as I parked my car safely.
I felt a strange sensation while holding the magic notebook. It was like it quietly transferred a surge of energy through my veins till it reached to my heart. I felt like I was urged to write something as soon as possible. Once I made it into my home, I immediately refilled my purple detox water bottle before heading upstairs. A story idea was instantly drawn in my head during the process.
"Maybe this would work." I agreed to myself. My mind replayed a made-up scene of my new story idea as I sat at my study desk in my room. The energy that filled my insides swelled even more when the cover of the notebook was flipped open. Grabbing one of my best fountain pens, I started writing and a smile crept on my face as I jotted down the scene in my head onto paper.
*
Chef of Sun Yang
Written by: Phelia Song
Chapter 1
"No! No...no...no...nope not even this one....ewww what the heck is this? Pig's poop?" the prince made a face as he faced each candidate.
There was still a long line of chefs, eager to win Prince Joo Yoon's heart with their best dishes in all of the kingdom of Sun Yang. However, what they hadn't found out yet,was that he was a spoiled single child of the royal family. They thought that he was a handsome,sophisticated 23-years-old man with high potential to take over the solar throne in the near future, but they had no idea how picky he was when it comes to luxury, especially food. All he cared about was finely-cooked meals, fresh from a festival feast.Ever since he was little, he was dissatisfied with the food cooked by the royal chefs hired by the emperor and empress. As the kitchen team were switched every four to five years, new meals were brought to the royal family. Everyone enjoyed every new dish except for Prince Joo Yoon. He admitted that he had different taste buds from other people. Everyone didn't understand on why Prince Joo Yoon disapproved of the taste of every food while they all agreed that the food were delicious. It was no wonder that he became as puny as his own skeleton.
Evening passed by, and he rejected every single one of the candidates with critical comments. When the hall was once again empty, Prince Joo Yoon said, "I'm not hungry. All the tasting has weakened my appetite."
"Do you maybe want to have some dessert, Your Majesty?" a soft voice suddenly appeared from the doors.
"Who's there?" he sat bolt upright with eyes the size of saucers.
Two lines of knights in sheepskin armour turned their heads sharply to the entrance and held their swords in the air. It went so quiet you could hear the wind whistling. One minute later, a fair-skinned girl wearing a long-sleeved white and pink dress tiptoed through the doors. All eyes were on her as she carried a small steel pot towards the prince.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but the chef selection has ended." he said.
"I know, and I'm really sorry, Your Majesty. I should have come earlier." she curtsied. Her strong hands gripped the handles of the pot that somehow caught the prince's attention. But he still kept a poker face.
"Shouldn't you be playing hopscotch with your siblings?" he scoffed.
The girl stared, but showed off a sweet smile,"I hope you like sikhye."
The prince raised his eyebrow, "Sikhye? What in a thousand stars is that?"
She smiled and cleared her throat, "Sikhye is a traditional Korean dessert. It's made of barley malt powder and rice."
"Sounds unpleasant."
To his surprise, she responded with a laugh. A laugh that was as sweet as bells. He stared at her as if she was unlike the 500 chefs he met earlier. A different human being.
"I believe you have not tried this famous dessert before, Your Majesty. Everyone here in Korea has tried it before!" she laughed.
Joo Yoon stared, dumbfounded.
"I'll let you have a sip,if you like, Your Majesty." she winked and fished out the pocket of her dress for a silver spoon.
"Well...I..." he mumbled. He watched in surprise as the girl gingerly walked up the stairs; her eyes watched over the liquid that wiggled on the spoon. The knights' jaw dropped as they eyed at her in fear. Luckily, the prince didn't say anything. She finally reached to the top and held the spoon towards his mouth. Her other hand was cupped down like a bowl.
"Your Majesty." she smiled. The prince suddenly found himself opening his mouth. The girl bravely slipped the drop of mystery into his mouth.
"What do you think, Your Majesty?" she asked.
Prince Joo Yoon swallowed and suddenly, he showed the same reaction when he first heard her voice from the entrance.
"Mashita!" he gasped and immediately covered his mouth with one hand. The girl was back down from the stairs and giggled softly.
The prince cleared his throat and looked back with a stoned face, "Well...I've never said this before in my life but..." he gulped, "your sikhye is...surprising."
"Glad you like it, Your Majesty." the girl smiled.
"Be at the royal kitchen by sunrise tomorrow. The servants will take care of you." he uttered.
"I'll be honoured, Your Majesty." she grinned.
Prince Joo Yoon strutted down the stairs and had a couple of knights behind him to his bedroom. He closed the doors behind him and sat on his bed.
"What just happened?" he said as he stared at the wooden floor. He couldn't stop replaying the scene in his head for what seemed like forever.
"Sikhye is a traditional Korean dessert. It's made of barley malt powder and rice." the girl's gentle voice echoed.
"Sikhye eh?" he mumbled. He was too lazy to change into his sleepwear. He just removed the thick layers of his prince clothes and threw the silk blanket over him. He dozed off as the lights were switched off minutes later.
*
"Done!" I yawned. I dropped my pen and rubbed my eyes while looking at the time on my iPhone 5S, "Wow...12:40am already? I...better get some sleep."
It seemed that the notebook had let me to write the story without stopping, like a flowing river. I went to wash up, change into a tank top and shorts, and slipped under the covers of my queen-size bed which was placed next to a side table with a copy of Super Junior's "Devil" album on it. Yeah...I know...I'm a K-pop addict. No biggie. I scrolled through social media for Super Junior updates on my phone for a good half an hour before my eyes gave up to stay awake.
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