1681

Scroll 04

Yeoju County, Gyeonggi Province, Joseon. Year 1681

300 years, 300 years.
Joy paced along the streets. She kicked the fallen autumn leaves as she walked around. Lost in her thoughts while racking her brains, she walked back and forth.
Of all times, why travelled back to 300 years ago?

Joy stopped. She looked up at the cleared blue sky. White fluffy clouds floated above her, shielding parts of the blazing sun. A strong wind gushed down her way, sending leaves to fall from the trees. She looked at a specific fallen leaf that stood out from the others. It's been three days since she set her foot on Joseon's ground and yet, she is still as clueless as she has ever been.

What exactly is the purpose of this travel? 

She looked down at her clothing-- which she had donned a yellow-and-pink hanbok--and sighed. She had totally blended into the traditional world now. Still, she misses her world already. She misses her car, air-conditioners, her bed and most importantly, her smartphone. 

If only smartphones and the Internet exists now, I could have gone to some forum and ask for answers.

Nonetheless, she really had to thank the fact that she was an actress and had done period dramas before. If it wasn't for that, Joy doubt that she can really survive in this era. Wow, I can't believe now I have to thank Mother for pushing me into the acting industry.

"Hey, are you okay?" Joy suddenly heard someone shouted. "What's happening to him?"

She stopped pacing around and turned to see a commotion happening right behind her. She walked towards the huge crowd curiously. There, she saw an unconscious man lying in the middle of the crowd.

What happened?  She moved closer to get a better view.
"What happened?" Joy heard someone from her right asking the same question.

She turned to the right to see that the voice belongs to a man that is around her age, or maybe slightly older than her by a few years. From where she is standing, she can only see his side profile but from all the period dramas she had seen and filmed, Joy can easily identify that he is of a noble birth just by judging his appearance.

Joy watched him walked towards the unconscious man. He bends down to check his pulse. While everyone fixed their eyes on that nobleman, Joy put her focus back on the situation. She curiously observed the surroundings and noticed a cup fallen on the ground a distance away from the unconscious man.

Why is the cup in such a weird position? Could he have drunk something that made him unconscious?

To confirm her sentiment, she slowly made her way and picked up the cup.

On the other hand, the nobleman raised his head and look around the surrounding as well. He noticed Joy squatted at a corner. Squinting his eyes, he noticed the cup she is holding. Having the exact same thought, the nobleman came up beside Joy.
"Mind if I examine the cup?" He asked politely. 

Joy shook her head before passing the cup to him. He looks familiar...She thought, but she just couldn't pinpoint who he is.

That nobleman examined the cup while wrecking his brains. Seemed like there's nothing wrong with it. But why does it have the smell of bitter almonds? He thought.

"You think there's something wrong with this cup too?" Pushing aside her curiosity of finding out who he is and why he looks so familiar, Joy asked since she noticed him examined the cup for a long time.