Jeon Jeongguk, the crown prince of Jeonseol and the winner of one of the bloodiest wars ever. The great prince, who went on a voyage after the war and never returned.
Everyone knew these facts. Everyone including Kim Taehyung, one of the most famou...
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"Jeon Jeongguk," Jeongguk said, puffing his chest up slightly. "The crown prince of Jeonseol."
"Huh," was all that the two tall men said in reply and it confused Jeongguk. He was sure the news of the war in his kingdom, the news of him successfully defeating his brother in the battle and the news of him getting crowned as the crown prince must have travelled everywhere. He was sure there wasn't anyone who didn't know his name. Especially not noblemen. So why this vague reaction?
"Yes," he answered nonetheless. He had been travelling, after all. He needed to know why he wasn't in the middle of the ocean out of the blue. "I have answered your query. Now you shall answer mine. What Kingdom is this?" he asked.
"Hanguk," the tallest man, who seemed somewhat sensible and polite among the three of them, said. "Namhan. NamJoseon."
Jeongguk lost his patience again. He had enough of these people. What were they taking him for? Did they think he was foolish enough to take whatever nonsense they spouted at him? He had always been the smarter one compared to his brother, and thus, he knew every single kingdom around his own.
Seeing as the people had similar features as himself, he knew this kingdom wasn't too far away from his own. So he also knew that there was no kingdom named 'Hanguk' or 'Namhan' or 'NamJoseon'. What Kingdom had so many names, anyway?
"I said don't play smart with me!!" he yelled, making the short man scoff and cross his arms at him. "You are in the future, mister!! That is what your kingdom is called in our times. If you don't like it, go back to your own times," he said, making strange gestures with his fingers when he said 'kingdom'.
Jeongguk didn't know why the man made such a comment so suddenly, but it had him frozen. He let his eyes fall on all the things around him, his mind going to a story his mother always told him and his brother whenever they were bored and wanted her to tell them a story.
"Once upon a time, four centuries ago, there used to be a great Prince named Seo Daeshin. He was great at fighting. There was no one who could defeat him. But he wasn't interested in ruling the kingdom. So he gave his kingdom up to his younger brother and went on a voyage to clear his mind and decide what he wanted to do with his life.
One night, when the ocean was violent and the journey was bumpy, he came out of his room on the ship to see the waves dance under the moonlight.
Instead of the waves dancing, however, he saw a beautiful maiden floating on the water at a distance. Her beauty matched none on earth. It put the moonlight to shame.
Her hair and gown flew around as she reached out for the Prince. "Come to me, my Prince," she whispered, but he heard her clearly as if she spoke right in his head.
And he became so mesmerized and drawn to her that without a second thought, he jumped into the raging waves underneath.
He tried his best to swim to her, but he only kept moving in circles with her staying just out of his reach.
