That dream made Dohyun avoid Ethos for a while. The simple thought of Fei made his heart hurt and he wasn't even sure why. He knew he looked like Munjong but it was getting ridiculous. So imagine his surprise when he received a text with the day and hour to meet for the Minsok village trip. He was both happy and worried.
"What should I wear, hmm...”
He stood there and tried out several outfits before he finally chose something casual yet still a bit fashionable since he wanted to impress her.
"Wait, no. No, not to impress," he slapped his cheeks and groaned, feeling like a high school girl in an anime. "But she always dresses so elegantly and she smells really nice." He added not realizing what he said.
All of this was happening under the intense watch of a dark raven that was shaking its head in disbelief.
"If you want to know, he is freaking out a bit." Minjae informed Fei when he returned. "Apparently you smell nice and dress well."
The nymph was closing the library when she heard the news. She smiled happily and even hummed on the way to her night work. Minjae watched her with softly, content that she was finally living her life and forgetting about the king. However, Dohyun's impression was not false because Fei did smell like flowers when she was happy and she did develop a fashion sense after going all over Europe during different periods of time. She used to travel with merchants so that taught her a thing or two about how to cover what she didn't like about herself and underline what she did like about her body.
"I'm thinking of giving everyone a free day on Friday." Fei started once she begun cashing out the register.
"So you can go on a date?" Minjae asked as he rolled his eyes.
"Maybe it is for you to go on a date." She replied shutting him up immediately. "Why don't you suddenly meet her on the street? Just bump into her, she has no idea who you are anyway."
"Take notes from dramas." Hikaru interfered, appearing behind the two nature spirits. "Women love the main lead but by the end of the drama, they usually prefer the second. That is why they call it the second lead syndrome. You start a drama for one character and end up rooting for another."
“Where do you want to go with this theory?” Fei asked looking at Hikaru over her shoulder.
“Take me along. I’ll be the main lead that will make her fall in love with you. If the plan works, and we use the elements around us, she’ll come looking for you by the end of the week.” The Japanese boy said with a wide mischievous smile.
There was a brief pause in which neither Minjae nor Fei took Hikaru’s idea into account. He was bored and wanted to wreak some little chaos in someone’s life but Minjae was too careful to risk it.
"Or you can take cupid along.” Fei said ignoring Hikaru, “She's a girl nowadays and she loves being a princess. Isn't this girl interested in fashion? I'm sure you can find where she works and pay her a coincidental visit. Besides, cupid will tell you for sure if you have a chance or not." She advised.
The morning of Friday arrived earlier than imagined. Dohyun was dressed in his usual simple style since he almost got a panic attack in his closet. When he got at the entrance he noticed Fei was already there, standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her hair was behind her ears and she seemed to be thinking about a lot of things while staring at the gates.
"Morning! You are here already."
"Yeah. I was excited so I ended up arriving early." She admitted without a second thought.
"Did you wait long?" He asked trying not to take her words too seriously.
"No. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes or so."
That didn't make Dohyun feel any better.
"I closed the library for the day so we can spend it all here." She announced him with a smile.
"Will you be alright?" He asked seeing how she was about to walk down memory lane.
"I don't know."
That honest answer made Dohyun grab her hand and interlock his fingers with hers. She was surprised by his bold move but it did make her feel reassured. The warmth of someone else was very effective.
"I'm your emotional support today. I'll try to not get too far from you so you do that too." He said looking straight into her eyes.
"Ok."
"Are you ready?" He asked turning towards the entrance. Fei grasped his hand and the young man felt this sudden wave of protectiveness fall over him.
"No. Let's go." Was her answer as they stepped inside the folk village.
As they made their way into the village, it all seemed surreal for Fei. It was like entering this little world that for many outsiders was a way to discover the past. But Fei knew that no matter how well they preserved the buildings and traditions, the past was entirely made by the people. These were modern visitors, who no matter how many hanboks wore and how much history they knew, could never be a real Joseon or Goryo villager.
Dohyun glanced at Fei from the corner of his eye, not wanting to appear too interested in her reaction. But she seemed fine. Her grasp on his hand was still tight but she seemed to be present in the moment. Maybe he overthought this moment and she was actually over the king. Just because she had the arrow showcased in Ethos didn't mean she was still in love with him. He didn't have to worry about a memory. Wait. No, what was he thinking?
"Should we dress in hanboks too?" She asked noticing the rental store.
She turned to Dohyun but he was lost in his own thoughts. Funnily enough, she was the one expected to frown and stand in the middle of the road with a distant expression. Well, it wasn't her. She sighed and literally dragged him inside the improvised store.
"Let's meet up after we've changed." She said although they were probably going to still keep their pants on. It was January after all.
Inside the store, Fei was almost done. It was weird seeing herself dressed in such a girly hanbok with her recent appearance. After returning to an earthly form, she preferred men clothing and then she was forced to wear a kisaeng attire for a bit. And after she was sent on Jiri Mountain she just went on with whatever clothes were easier to find. Minjae was not a stylish human and most of his days were spent in his raven form so whatever he brought from the village was acceptable as long as nobody could see her.
When she stepped outside, nobody looked at her twice. It was a different feeling seeing how she used to always draw attention in her original foreign form. She checked if Dohyun was done but she didn't see him anywhere.
"Did he already leave?" She asked herself and went on.
By herself it was like a return to her youthful days. Back then she was free to do and go wherever she wanted. That was a nice feeling, having the whole world at your reach. The scenery in the village was wonderful. It was winter and it snowed quite a bit so the whole view was marvellous. There was snow on the ground and some on the rooftops and whenever the wind blew, it would remind Fei of the cold and harsh winters in Hanyang.
She did remember a lot from her Joseon days. It wasn't just Lee Hyang but a lot of other people and experiences. She used to drink a lot and enjoy watching men stumble down the street after partying until late. Kisaengs were a lot nicer and educated compared to other women from the court who would bow their heads and agree blindly with the men in power. Merchants were funny because some were incredibly bad at their job and some were simply crooks. But all those details contributed to the overall image of what Joseon really was.
"You are way happier than I imagined."
She spun around and faced a smiling Dohyun. The wind blew and a bit of snow fell over them, reminding her of her first personal chat with the king. She stood there frozen. This man in front of her, he was freedom in person. He was so easy to read and his beliefs were all written on his face. Dohyun was much more than Hyang but at the same time it was impossible to get over how he could easily impersonate the former king if he wanted to.
From Dohyun's point of view, she looked up at him with those fairy eyes of hers and for a moment he could see her; the same face from his dreams. He realized Fei was the same person, unlike him and the king, so whether she had this face or another, Fei was still Fei. But what about him? Luckily, his answer was quick.
Fei held his hand still looking at him. She moved without fully thinking, it was more of a reflex. Standing there, looking at each other with snow falling around them, it was as if time has stopped and they were the only people in the universe.
"What are you doing?"
"Relying on you. Can I do that?" She asked so innocently that Dohyun wanted to wrap his hands around her and never let go.
"Be it night or day, whether we are apart or next to each other, I will always be here for you." He said. He didn't plan to be so serious about it but it was otherworldly. Maybe it was the aftermath of those dreams or maybe he just found out what this woman meant to him. Either way, he wanted her to rely on him. Always.
Fei didn't say a word but it did mean a lot to her. Nobody except Minjae ever told her something like that. Coming from Dohyun, it was even more significant.
"How can you say that with such a straight face? Where do you find the confidence?" She asked hiding her shyness with playfulness.
He didn't answer, he was too embarassed to come up with words, so he pulled her closer and they started to walk around. She noticed he had his camera on his shoulder and realized they were going to do real work soon.
Work meant Dohyun shooting a lot of details from how houses were built to how many were on one street and how people were standing around them. While doing that, Fei was free to enjoy herself. Dohyun caught her in a few pictures too. Her smile was contagious and she fit the scenery really well.
"Stop taking my photos. I can feel it." She complained walking in front of him.
"But you are the main character. This is research too."
"I don't look like your character anymore. There is nothing impressive about me anyway." She mumbled grumpily turning her back to him.
Dohyun laughed and took a quick shot of her turning to glance at him over her shoulder.
"You look pretty anyway." He whispered hoping she wouldn't hear.
"And I smell nice, isn't it?" She asked with a mischievous tone. Dohyun's eyes widened but he regained his composure quickly. He figured that a raven spied on him and he was going to have a man-to-man discussion with Minjae about his private life.
Seeing how this was his chance, he took a few photos of her. She made different faces which ended up cracking up both the model and the photographer. They took a break when they reached a space designed for people who wanted to try their hand at archery.
"You know how to shoot an arrow?" He asked her suddenly.
"Yeah. I prefer the lance or sword but I know archery too. Part of the job description." She said nonchalantly.
Dohyun chuckled to himself at her answer.
"You lied to the king." He muttered but Fei had sensitive hearing. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Dohyun looked at her and grabbed her hand, pulling her exactly in front of the first target. He gave her a bow and arrow and more or less made her hold it. She couldn’t concentrate with him being so close to her. She could feel his breathe on her cheek.
"He was helping you because the other concubines could at least shot to an average distance. But your arrow fell just a foot from where you stood."
Once he let her go, she shot the target in the middle. It looked really easy from afar.
"How do you know that?" She asked turning to him. "You are not related to him so how can you have such a memory?"
Dohyun shrugged.
"I've been having quite a few of them lately. I know I'm not him but it feels real. I feel every little emotion he did at one point or another."
"Is that why you want to seduce me?" She asked narrowing her eyes at the human.
Dohyun pondered on that idea before but it was so vague. His own emotions were getting mixed up with something else.
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