Opening Scene:
It was supposed to be an ordinary evening.
Choi Sang-u, a brilliant but exhausted surgeon, sat in the sterile, cold room of his hospital office, his hands trembling slightly as he wrote his notes. The weight of years of overwork and sleepless nights had finally caught up to him. His body had given in, his mind on the edge of collapse. He hadn't had time to think about anything beyond his patients for as long as he could remember.
A sharp pain in his chest brought him to his knees. He gasped for air, clutching his chest, but it was too late. His body gave in, and darkness consumed him.
---
Cut to:
A lavish palace.
The sound of a gong echoed through the royal hall, a signal that the grand ceremony was about to begin. Emperor Lee Hwa-jun stood before his people, his royal robes cascading over his shoulders, his crown resting atop his head. His eyes were cold, distant, as he looked upon his kingdom. The people cheered, but he only felt the weight of expectations pressing against him.
In the midst of the ceremony, as he prepared to take the ceremonial vows with his bride-to-be, Empress Ahn Yuna, the world around him swayed and crumbled. His vision blurred, his knees buckled, and in a moment that felt like an eternity, he collapsed.
But it wasn't his body that hit the cold marble floor.
---
Cut to:
The hospital room.
Sang-u opened his eyes with a sharp gasp. The sterile smell of the hospital was gone. He blinked, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings-luxurious silk curtains, golden chandeliers, and the distinct scent of incense. His hand moved instinctively to his chest, where the pain had been, only to find that there was no ache, no wound.
Instead, he found something even stranger.
A royal ring on his finger. A crown resting in front of him on a velvet cushion.
---
Lee Hwa-jun's voice:
(His own voice, but it felt so foreign.)
"What the hell...?"
Sang-u tried to speak again, but the words that escaped his mouth were not his own. His hand reached to touch his face, feeling the unfamiliar smoothness of royal skin. His breathing quickened as he struggled to process what was happening. This wasn't his hospital room, and this wasn't his body.
---
The servants rushed in-they had seen their emperor awake, their faces filled with a mixture of shock and excitement. They bowed deeply, their voices trembling as they greeted him.
"Your Majesty, you are awake. The kingdom rejoices!"
Sang-u blinked, his mind racing. What kingdom? What rejoices?
He was still grasping the reality of his situation when a woman entered-Empress Ahn Yuna. Her icy eyes met his, and for a moment, everything froze.
"Emperor," she said coldly, but with a trace of something... more. "You've been unconscious for three days. Don't tell me you've forgotten our vows already."
Sang-u's heart raced. Vows? To this woman?
He tried to form words, but all he could manage was a strained smile. "I... don't even know who I am anymore."
Yuna's gaze softened, if only for a moment, before her walls returned. "You're the Emperor of Joseon. And I'm your wife. Now, get up. We have a kingdom to rule."
---
The Next Day:
Sang-u, now trapped in the body of Lee Hwa-jun, tried to navigate his new life. The palace was a maze of politics, backstabbing, and strange rituals. And he? He was just an overworked surgeon who had no business ruling a kingdom. His body was that of an emperor, but his mind was that of a man who knew nothing of this world.
---
As he sat alone in the royal garden, the wind brushing against his face, he realized one thing.
He was no longer Choi Sang-u.
He was now Emperor Lee Hwa-jun.
And he had to figure out how to survive-and maybe, just maybe, find a way to make this strange new life better than his old one.