A Taste of the Throne
Tagline: The King Who Craved More
Story Description / Submission Pitch:
Minsoo thought winning an award would change her life—she never imagined it would throw her into a world of fear, slavery, and danger. Trapped alongside Miso, she must use her culinary talent to survive. With every meal, the stakes grow higher, and one misstep could cost them everything. Can courage, friendship, and skill defeat a world that seems determined to destroy them?
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Chapter One
Her smile was radiant as the award was placed into her hands. Applause thundered through the room, warm and approving, yet she had no idea this small victory would soon pull her into a world she was never meant to enter.
By the next morning, her life would no longer belong to her.
As the clapping faded, she wiped her hands on her apron and returned to her station. She excused herself quietly and slipped into the bathroom, her heart still racing. When she opened her bag, her fingers brushed against an old book—the one her father had insisted she take home.
The cover was unfamiliar. The pages were worn, filled with strange symbols she couldn't understand. Curiosity nudged her forward. She opened it.
The air shifted.
Her vision blurred. Her chest tightened. Before she could react, darkness swallowed her whole.
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Minsoo awoke to the sound of wind rustling through leaves.
Her body ached. When she opened her eyes, panic seized her—she was trapped high in a tree, the ground far below. The forest stretched endlessly around her, wild and unfamiliar.
Then she heard it.
Hooves. Shouting. The sharp whistle of arrows slicing through the air.
A man rode into the clearing below, dressed in armor, a bow drawn tightly in his hands. He was hunting.
She watched in horror as he chased a deer, firing arrow after arrow—until one struck her.
A scream tore from her throat as she lost her grip and fell, crashing painfully onto the forest floor. The man froze when he realized what he had hit.
For a brief moment, his expression flickered with shock. Then it hardened.
"A witch," he said coldly.
Before Minsoo could speak, he raised his bow again. Terror surged through her. She ran blindly through the forest as arrows flew past her, branches cutting into her skin. She didn't stop until she reached the edge of a steep cliff.
"Please!" she cried, turning to face him. "I'm human!"
He didn't believe her. Her clothes were strange—nothing like anyone here wore. To him, she didn't belong.
Another arrow flew, striking her bag. It slipped from her shoulder and fell over the cliff, disappearing into the depths below—along with the book.
Desperation drove her forward. She lunged at him. They struggled dangerously close to the edge. Suddenly, an arrow shot from the shadows, striking the man in the chest.
An assassin.
The force knocked them both over the cliff. Cold water swallowed them.
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When Minsoo regained consciousness, the man lay nearby, unconscious and bleeding. Despite everything, she tore strips of cloth from her clothing and bound his wound, desperate to stop the bleeding.
When he finally stirred, his eyes snapped open—and landed on the ropes restraining him.
"Untie me at once!" he commanded. "Do you know who I am?"
She scoffed. "A man who tried to kill me."
"I am the king," he snapped. "You will pay for this."
She laughed, exhausted and angry. "And I'm supposed to believe that?"
She warned him to walk quietly or she would leave him there. With no choice, he followed as she dragged him through the forest, still insisting on his title. She ignored him, convinced he was a madman.
Eventually, they reached a hidden house marked with a wooden sign:
DO NOT ENTER — THE KING'S HUNTING FIELD
The man's fury ignited. "I own this land," he said sharply. "Everything on it."
Minsoo only rolled her eyes.
Inside, silence settled between them. Hunger made itself known. Searching the house, Minsoo found traditional clothing and couldn't hide her fascination. She changed quickly—until a woman burst in, raising a stick in defense.
After hurried explanations, the woman lowered her weapon.
Her name was Miso, meaning smile.
Minsoo introduced herself as a chef from the future. Her name meant beauty and elegance.
Miso revealed she was hiding from men sent by the state minister to abduct women for slavery.
Hungry and exhausted, Minsoo offered to cook. Using what little she could find, she prepared a dish unlike anything they had ever seen—steak tartare, topped with vegetables and raw egg yolk, served alongside crisp kelp chips.
The injured man refused at first. Minsoo sighed, lifted a spoon, and fed him herself.
The moment the food touched his tongue, his expression changed.
"What kind of meal is this?" he whispered. "I have never tasted anything like it."
She told him it came from the future. He laughed, unconvinced, yet unable to deny the craving it stirred within him.
Later, Minsoo told Miso about the bag she had lost near the mountain. They left together to search for it, leaving the injured man behind.
While they were gone, palace guards found him. They freed him. And they burned the house to the ground.
Unaware of what had happened, Minsoo and Miso stopped by a stream to wash. It was there—tired, unguarded, and vulnerable—that the worst happened. They were captured.