My secret cave with stuff to fan-girl over

“Why are we in the kitchen? Are you planning on making me stay the night here?” Tae-Eul asked, looking around her surroundings.

This was no ordinary kitchen. The plates and tableware that were carefully displayed in several china cabinets looked like they could belong in a museum. Everything seemed luxurious, all the kitchenware of professional grade. The kitchen itself was very sleek and modern, the meat stored in its very own food cellar. So this is what a royal kitchen looked like.

Gon chuckled at Tae-Eul’s easy banter, removed his jacket and placed it neatly on the back of the island stool. He had asked the staff to vacate the premises so that only he and Tae-Eul were left.

“If you’re staying the night, I’ll have you sleep in my bedroom. Now that Secretary Mo knows, almost everyone around me knows about you.”

Gon grabbed Tae-Eul’s shoulders and led her back to one of the chairs. Once he made sure she was seated, he went back to the kitchen counter.

“Let’s eat. Yeong told me that you didn’t eat anything besides a sandwich today. I’m repaying you for the half and half.” Gon said, rolling his sleeves.

Tae-Eul observed Gon moving around, taking out ingredients here and there and putting them on the counter. It was clear from the way he was deftly cutting the vegetables that he knew his way around the kitchen. He heated the cast iron pan before putting in the meat. Soon, the delicious scents of the sizzling steak filled the the room. Tae-Eul didn’t realize how hungry she was until she smelled the wonderful flavors coming out from the kitchen island. She looked at the grilling piece of beef with raptured attention before she met Gon’s gaze.

His lips were curled in satisfaction, obviously proud of himself.

“You didn’t give me money on purpose, right? You knew we didn’t have the same currencies.”

“Right. You don’t have buttons. I didn’t want you to go far away, that’s why I sent Yeong.” He replied cheekily.

“The credit limit was 100,000 won. I borrowed it from him, so pay it back for me.”

“I will.”

“I was traveling around today, and I realized you must have been lonely in my world.” Tae-Eul stated.

She guessed it was one of those things you had to actually experience before understanding how it truly felt. Now she thought of Gon whenever she felt lonely. Because that’s how he probably felt too, back in her world.

Distracted by her words, Gon turned his attention away from the task at hand and looked at her worriedly.

“Were you lonely here?”

“It was frustrating to not have something that could prove my identity. Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

“Would you come here for a second?” The lines of his face hardened, his jaw clenched.

Tae-Eul wordlessly stood up and came up to him.

“Do you need any help?” She asked.

“Look at me.”

A command delivered by a King. Who was wearing an apron.

Tae-Eul tilted her head. Gon came closer and lightly bumped his forehead against hers.

“I want to pat your head, but both my hands are busy”

His deep voice tickled her skin, his nearness eliciting warm, tingly feelings in her.

“It doesn’t seem like your first time.” Tae-Eul mumbled, slightly disconcerted.

“What do you mean? Dating? Why? You didn’t get any results from web searching?”

“Why do you cook so well? I thought you were making me some ramen.” She changed the topic.

“You said it didn’t taste good.”

“It was good. That’s why I didn’t believe that you cooked it yourself.”

“Head Court Lady Noh taught me how to cook. The only food that I don’t need to be tasted is the food I cook myself.”

Tae-Eul took a step away, letting him finish the food preparation.

“I saw you looked it up online. Prince Imperial Geum. And Lee Lim.” Gon went on, voice nonchalant.

Any citizen in the Kingdom knew about the traitor Lee Lim, so it wouldn’t have been hard for Tae-Eul to find out about his uncle or read about the details of that night. If her face was any indication, his guess was right.

“You… seem to have grown into a fine man.”

“I guess that you now know what root you are standing in front of.”

Tae-Eul vaguely stared at the faint scar visible on Gon’s collarbone. It must have been painful, getting that scar. It must have hurt so much. That a child had to go through this brutal ordeal was almost inconceivable. She couldn’t even think about it. Because if she did, she probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. That a relative could kill a child’s father before attempting to strangle that very same child to death.

“It’s my hell and my history that was engraved on my body by the greed of the person that killed my father and strangled me.”

“…”

“This is why I was raised amid my uncle’s worries and Head Court Lady Noh’s tears. And that’s the reason why Lady Noh isn’t nice to you. Don’t be upset about it.”

Tae-Eul had briefly felt the unfairness of Lady Noh’s treatment towards her. She understood why she had acted that way though. Tae-Eul could only nod at Gon’s explanations.

“Is that it? After hearing a story like this, don’t you have to either give me a hug or at least say that you would give me one?”

“Aren’t you going to show me my ID card?” Tae-Eul asked instead.

“Hey, don’t change the topic—“

“I need to go now.” She cut him off.

“I won’t let you go. You have to live here.”

They both knew it though. They had led separate lives so far. An entire universe stood in between them.

Tae-Eul had only spent one— no, two nights in a far-away place where no one else from her world could travel to. If it weren’t for Gon, she wouldn’t even have picked this place as a travel destination.

“I’m serious. I won’t let you go. I can keep you here with just one command.” Gon repeated, each word heavier than the last.

His anguish and frustration was palpable. Feeling completely powerless, Tae-Eul could only let her own sadness flow through her veins, leaving a cold emptiness in its wake.

He was surrounded by so many caring people, people who held him dear, people who worried about him— Yet Gon still felt a deeply rooted loneliness within him.

Whether it was 25 years ago or today, the only person who was able to unburden this heavy load was the one person whose existence made no sense in his world.

Tae-Eul couldn’t help but feel the unfairness of the situation. She had always been Gon’s constant, his zero. Without realizing it, she had started wanting to be his zero as well.

She had no idea where to take things from there. She had no clue about anything about the two of them, yet she knew that whenever she looked at him, whenever she was pulled into his mesmerizing gaze, she could only nod and follow his steps. She wanted to shy away from him and his big, almond-shaped eyes.

He had always been the sharp, dutiful King leading a country for most. But to her, he was an honorable man with a vulnerability that only she could see.

Lost in her thoughts, Tae-Eul noticed that the meal Gon had prepared for her was steaming, small puffs of smoke coming out of the pan. Gon turned off the stove and placed a plate in front of her.

“Take your time. I will show you the ID card after you finish it.”

Tae-Eul grabbed the spoon. She didn’t feel like eating and felt her strength gradually leaving her. She put on a happy face and scooped up a spoonful of the meal Gon had prepared. She would show her appreciation. For his sake.

“Thanks for the food.”

“Steak and rice in a hot pot. It’s my signature dish. Everyone falls for it.”

Tae-Eul didn’t even have to pretend to be enjoying the food. It really was delicious.

“You should ask me whom I cooked it for. I said it to make you jealous.” Gon quipped.

“I can’t beat that person anyway. Whoever she is, that person must be from this world.” Tae-Eul took another mouthful.

It seemed that whenever Tae-Eul spoke her mind freely, Gon’s heart twitched in pain. Reaching in his pocket, Gon grabbed the badge and handed it to her.

“I have been carrying it around ever since you came here. I didn’t show it to you because I was afraid you might leave. But… you’ve already gone somewhere much further away than your world. Take a look.”

The ID card looked a little more worn out than the one that had been recently issued. Everything else checked out. November 11th, 2019. This badge was hers.

“The navy jacket. It’s mine. It’s my ID card. How does this make sense, though? It’s definitely mine. Did you say it’s been here for 25 years?”

“Someone dropped it here. But my memories are fading away. I’m not sure I can recognize that person. But I feel like the person will appear before me at least once.”

“Why?”

“Because that person is either the beginning or the end of all this. It seems like a difficult question to solve, but there must be a simple and beautiful formula for it. And you are the answer I have been looking for. From now on, I will prove it one by one. Whoever it is, and whichever world the person is from, you’ve beat that person. So don’t you decide alone to leave like that.”

Tae-Eul wasn’t sure what moves he was about to make. The boy he used to be grew beautifully into the man that faced her today.

For a short while, they stared wistfully at each other.

Hope. Apprehension. Self-reflection. Solitude.