Where am I?
'Welcome to the world of fantasy which is based on the novel, Mine'
"Who's there? Who's talking?" I asked confused.
'I am your assistant in this journey through the novel'
'Um... Assistant? What do I need an assistant for?"
'You have entered the realm of the novel written by your friend, Ji soo'
"You can't be serious"
'From today, you'll have to follow the storyline to be able to return to your real world'
"Storyline? What storyline? She has barely written one chapter"
'As she progresses in her story, you would be told what to do'
"Progresses? I know that girl. It took her seven years...….. and two weeks to write a chapter of her story. I can't stay here for decades. What am I supposed to do when she's not writing?"
'When she's not writing, you can do whatever you want but I will advise you to act in ways that follow the story's plot lines which you had outlined for her'
"Well, what if she abandons the story? What am I supposed to do then?"
'Just follow the plot outlines. Rest assured. You surely won't be abandoned here as well'
"Okay, no problem. I'm an actress. How hard could it be?"
'Since you know what to do now, I'll let you begin your journey in 5….4….3…..2...1. Please be careful in the water'
"Water? What water?"
******
I opened my eyes to see myself in a large river. I struggled to breathe and swim up above the waves. Luckily, I was a good swimmer.
'Now you begin the story officially. Feel free to call me if you need any help', the voice said and disappeared.
My head which was popped above the waters struggled to find shore which was like miles away to me. I swam hard to shore. I breathed hard and sat down on the sandy shore. I was soaked all through. I used the opportunity to look at my outfit. I was in an historical costume. The outfit was pure white with crystal blue designs. It looked like a hanfu costume. I looked at my surroundings. Up above, there was a huge cliff. I guessed I was at the bottom. I walked my way up the hill, came across a forest and finally saw a lively market. I was relieved but it didn't end there. My stomach rumbled reminding me it had not eaten but I had no money on me and I knew better than to beg. But what could I do? As I folded my hands to say a quick prayer, I saw glittering bracelets on my wrists. I looked at them and admired them. They were rough and glittery with stones that looked like crystals and some pieces of green color were on it as well. "This seems priceless", I said in amazement. 'I could pawn it in a pawnshop. It would worth a lot even if it is fake', I thought. Someone passed by me. I held their arm, "excuse me, do you know any pawnshop around here?" I asked. "There's one at the end of the market". He answered and left.
I arrived at the pawnshop and the owner didn't look any friendly. "What do you want to pawn?" he asked me. "Um….." I said removing the bangles from both my wrists and dropped them on the table. He picked it up and looked at them with uncertainty. I thought maybe the bangles were fake and not worth enough and removed my earrings and rings as well. "Actually, I don't need much money. You can give me anything you have", I said. I had never felt so poor in my life. Actually, I was born into a wealthy family. My dad was the CEO of an Engineering company spread across the world and the richest in Asia while my mum was a successful baker and world class chef, more of a baker though. I had two older twin siblings. The older, my sister, was a successful business woman into Economics while the younger, my brother, was into the entertainment field. He was a renowned rapper of a boy band. So money was like my second name.
"I mean, how on earth did you get these? Did you steal them?" he asked to my annoyance. I was anything but a thief but I knew I had to calm down if I wanted money. "I didn't steal them. They belong to me", I said. With the same look on his face, he used his magnifying lens to survey the jewelries. The more he looked, the more he frowned. "Girl, be honest. You stole it otherwise, how would you end up with these priceless jewelry", he bellowed. 'So they are indeed priceless', I thought to myself. "I didn't steal them. They belong to me", I said. "These aren't any casual jewelry. It's not something anyone can come by" "sir, I'm not a thief. If you don't want to buy, you can just say so", I said wearing back the bangles while I held my earrings and turned to leave but all of a sudden, I inhaled a strange smell and fell unconscious immediately.
*******
I opened my eyes in another strange environment. Was the system giving me a tour or what? I was supported by a lady in red. I stood still on my own and looked around. There were about six strange faces dressed more outstanding than the others. I recognized the man from the shop outside, "you….." I felt like smacking him in the face but I was inside the hall. Everyone looked at me strangely. "What's going on?" I asked but no one replied. "Hey! You guys just can't keep me here like this. I'm not some common criminal", I said. "Then, do you care to explain how you got those jewelries?" he asked. "They belong to me. I didn't steal them", I shouted in frustration. "Enough", I heard a cool voice. I looked behind me and saw the curtains swaying rhythmically and a man walking towards the table behind the curtain. He sat down. I caught a glimpse of his face when the curtain swayed and I must say, the ancients are quite good-looking. He had long golden hair, pointed noise, dark mystical eyes, soft pink lips and a perfect jawline. He had a mark in between his forehead giving him the perfect portray of a powerful figure. He was really cute. If only I could touch those perfect lips...…what am I thinking? Now is not the time to fantasize. Looking at the situation now, I seem to be in big trouble. Everyone in the room immediately knelt down in greeting or whatsoever. I guess he is a powerful figure. "Who are you?" I asked defiantly still standing, "Look, I don't care who you are but let me tell you; you can't just randomly capture me and then accuse me of a crime I didn't commit. I am not a thief. These bangles belong to me. If you think otherwise, you might as well produce the real owner", I said. "Chief, she is a thief. She stole the Veiled Code priced possession", the pawnshop man said. "Veiled Code?!"I blurted. 'So this the chief of the veiled code. The ruthless character who is indifferent to everything and does whatever he wants to. Jesus. I'm so screwed. Anyways, better late than never. A wise man knows when to back down'. I immediately knelt down as well. Everyone looked at me even more perplexed but I bowed my head to the ground and started apologizing. "After all of these arguments I finally realize that I'm in the wrong. Actually, the thing is I found myself in a river and I struggled to swim out. When I reached shore, I was cold and hungry then I saw these jewelry in my hands. So I decided to pawn it in a pawnshop. I didn't know how I got them but I'm willing to return them", I said and immediately removed the bracelets from my hands. I touched my ears for the earrings and realized that I had dropped it when I fell unconscious. "Where are the earrings?" I asked turning to the man. The girl in red passed me the earrings and I laid it down on the floor with the bracelets and rings. "I have returned the jewelry and apologized and I'm sure that a handsome and benevolent man like you will not hold this against me and let bygones be bygones", I said bowing my head to the ground again. His face remained neutral. He really was indifferent. I wonder what Ji soo was thinking when she was making up a character like him. I lifted my head slowly and looked up at him, "since that's settled, I'll take my leave then", I said. I stood up and turned to leave but his voice stopped him. "Stop", he said. He shifted the curtains sideways and his handsomely cute face appeared. Oh my God, his visuals are killing me. He was even more handsome than he was behind the screens. Our eyes locked in for a second and then longer because I wasn't one to break an eye contact. You know, that was one leadership quality I had. I was raised to look people in the eye no matter who or what they were.
"All rise", he said still looking at me. "Thank you, Chief", they responded before standing. "Poison lord", he called still looking at me. Were we having a staring contest? A man uniquely dressed in a green robe came forward and bowed. "Help me check what's wrong with her", he said still staring at me. "Yes, Chief", he responded and suddenly took my hand. I was startled and withdrew my hand immediately. "Let go of me. I hate being touched. Who do you think you are?" I said glaring at him fiercely. "My apologies, Chieftess but I only wanted to check your pulse", he explained with a bow. "I'm fine", I responded still with the same glare. 'Hold on a second. Did I hear him right? Chieftess?' I wondered confused. I turned to him. "What did you call me just now?" I asked, "Chieftess?" He nodded. I chuckled nervously, "this can't be real. Wait.... so if I am a Chieftess and he is the chief", I said pointing at him, "does that mean he is my husband?!"