Admittedly, by the time Chung-Hee had done her best work, I was looking lots better. Different, obviously, but not bad for someone who had potentially travelled over one thousand years into the past.
To get me ready in time to meet the Queen Dowager, Chung-Hee found me another set of robes, brushed my hair, clipping the bangs to the side with pearl and enamel combs, and washed my face, touching up my dry lips with just a hint of what I could only assume was the Goryeo version of lip stain. As a finishing touch, she rubbed rose-scented essential oils into my wrists and along my neck."There," she said as she finished up, more than a hint of proud satisfaction lacing her tone. "You look lovely, Miss."
"Thank you, Chung-Hee." I meant it. I had never bothered with wearing a ton of makeup—I was kind of a sunscreen and lip balm, then out-the-door kind of girl—but it felt grounding to be a little cleaned up, and the rose scent helped to soothe my headache a bit.
"A pleasure, Miss." Chung-Hee fluffed the ends of my hair out one last time before we heard a light knock at the door. "Sorry, Chung-Hee, could I come in?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Chung-Hee called, before bustling over to answer the door.
As soon as the door was opened, my eyes met with Chi's. Please, be convincing, I begged myself. I needed to lay low, blend in. The only reason I'd originally thought that Chi was strange, was because he seemed out of place in my modern world. But now that I realized that maybe—more like, probably—I was the one who was out of place in his world, I knew that I needed an ally. And he had been the one that had wanted Ha-Na here, after all.
I swallowed as I tried to do what was one of my least favourite things, these days—maintain direct, confident, unflinching eye contact. "Confidence!" I reminded myself. "You are a smart, independent woman. You are a graduate student. A struggling one."
Scrap that thought.
Chi came into the doorway. With his hands clasped in front of him, he took on an authoritative stance, one that suggested much more confidence than I felt, but I noticed that he didn't move past the door. Something—though I couldn't quite tell what—changed in his eyes as they locked with mine, but his smile was warm, turning up the corners of his eyes.
"You look like you feel much better," he noted, his tone laced with humour. "Thank you for taking good care of her, Chung-Hee," he nodded and smiled at her, before turning to face me again. "I came to talk with you, before you meet the Queen Dowager."
As if on cue, Chung-Hee bowed to me. "I'll be right outside, Miss," she said, before she made her efficient exit.
With just the two of us in the room, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to act. My newfound realization that I wasn't on a film set or in some cult, combined with my memory of how I'd spoken to him before, gave the room an awkward tension, at least from my side. Back then, he had just been someone I'd written off as an eccentric. Even if he had only been that in my modern world, it wouldn't have mattered. But here, he was a prince. I wasn't sure if he was close to reigning yet—I was still working on my historical timeline—but a prince was a prince. And if I didn't fortunately look like Hong Ha-Na, I could have royally ticked this prince off with my earlier sassiness.
I bit my lip and stood up. It was now or never. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."
Chi frowned a little, his eyebrows slightly raised. "Not that title again." Once again, a light, laughing undertone came through. "What are you sorry for?"
"That I didn't recognize you. I must've hit my head—although I don't remember how I did it" better to keep the details simple. I bowed my head. "I think I was maybe a bit…not very nice to you before."
Chi gave a short laugh, that warm, bright one from before. "Ha-Na, do you really think I was offended by that?"
Sort of?
"Raise your head." Structurally, it was a command, but nothing about it felt harsh or domineering. I couldn't really describe it properly, but there was almost a patient quality to it, a nurturing quality, and I felt myself respond to it. Slowly, I lifted my head.
And, ugh, the pain! I clenched my teeth as I felt another dull throb hit my temple and radiate through my neck. Great, I probably have whiplash now. And no chiropractic care. I sunk back into my chair, my eyes downward again. I didn't like people thinking that I couldn't take care of myself. I only lifted my eyes again when I saw the shadow in front of me.
"Does your head hurt again?"
I nodded and tried to keep the tears at bay. I needed to get control of myself, or I wouldn't last a day in Goryeo. I played with Chung-Hee's handkerchief, twisting the damp cloth nervously between my fingers. I kept at it, until another pair of hands circled mine, holding them. Chi's hands. I looked up, to see his amber eyes fixed on me, his expression concerned.
"I'll have Chung-Hee give you something for the pain." He pressed the tips of his thumbs to the base of mine. "Don't worry about anything you've said or done to me. That's past now." He turned my hands over and began pressing my fingernails. I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but in an odd way, I didn't mind. While the gesture would normally have been a tad—cozy—for me, somehow, it didn't feel invasive.
"I'll admit that I was a bit taken a back when you accused me of—" Chi cut himself off, a light flush tinting his cheeks. We both knew that he meant, when you accused me of being a pervert. "But how would you have known? You didn't remember me."
"No. I didn't." The regret in my tone surprised me. It was normal to not remember someone that I hadn't seen since childhood—a bit embarrassing, maybe, considering he remembered me in vivid detail—but there you go.
"That's nothing to be sorry about either. It's only natural that you wouldn't recognize me." Chi finished his acupressure job, and, amazingly, my head felt lighter than before.
"Hey, that's better now."
Chi smiled. "Don't take it too hard though. You'll need enough rest. I'll cut your visit with my aunt short." He paused. "Ha-Na, how much do you remember of my aunt?"
"Nothing, really," I admitted, truthfully.
"My aunt is…a bit of a temperamental person. She was married to one of the most powerful leaders in our history. She's someone who gets what she wants, and she isn't easy to get along with. You and my aunt," Chi finished bluntly, "Did not get along well."
"Noted," I nodded. Well, she was a queen. And, I realized while mentally zooming through my knowledge of Goryeo history, likely married to Gwangjong, which would make her Chi's aunt by both marriage and blood.
"My advice, would be to not talk too much when you see her."
"Because I might say something...unwise?" I quickly tacked on what was probably the Goryeo equivalent of "stupid." My tone was joking, but Chi's expression became serious.
"No, not that. Although, it wouldn't be the first time that you talked back to her." He slipped me a small grin.
Just how gutsy was Hong Ha-Na?
"It's just that you don't need to worry yourself about her, and the best way to do that, is to not provoke too much of a reaction. If she says something…disrespectful," Chi measured his wording, obviously finding it a bit weird to refer to a former queen as "disrespectful." "Let me take care of it."His words were instructions, more than anything, but they made me feel something that I hadn't in ages. I felt suddenly valued and protected. Cared for. And although he probably didn't mean it to take on that kind of depth, I could almost sense in him that he genuinely wanted to make thing alright for me. That it was just the sort of person he was.
"Ok," I replied, meeting his eyes as I spoke.
"Good." Chi took my hands in his again, helping me to my feet. "And whatever you do, give the impression that I've asked you here for a visit. Not," he hesitated, "for anything else."
A blend of curiosity and chills peaked, but I kept my questions to myself. Later, I told myself. Asking questions—like I'd done in grad school—was a dangerous territory. It was better to gain knowledge of my new surroundings and why I—and Ha-Na—was here slowly.
I flashed Chi my most confident smile. "Anything you say."
**************"
Your nephew and Miss Hong Ha-Na, Your Majesty."
"Bring them in."
"I'm strong. I'm tough. I can do this,' I mentally repeated as I walked alongside Chi towards the end of the room, where the queen dowager sat on an ornate chair. In reality, I was barely able to walk, I was shaking so much. At least these robes were good for one thing; they concealed my legs pretty well. Actually, they were quite comfy.
The room wasn't a throne room, but it may as well have been based on how the queen commanded her presence. Her scarlet lips curved as she saw us, but not in a smile or concealed laughter as Chi's often did. Her mouth formed an undeniable smirk; one that wordlessly said, "I will take you out if I have to." "Nephew," she purred as Chi and I bowed to her, although her eyes remained fixed on me. "It's been quite a long time."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize for the delay."
She flicked a careless hand. "It is no matter." Her eyes trained back on me, and she smiled, revealing a set of remarkably white teeth for the era. "It has been quite a while since my last meeting with this young lady."
"Your Majesty," I dipped my head in a bow again.
"You've certainly grown."
"Yes, Ma'm…I mean, Your Majesty," I corrected myself after a sideline glance from Chi.
"Come a little closer so I can take a better look at you."
With trembling legs, I made my way closer to her. "Very pretty. How old are you now?"
"Um," please help me! I sent a telepathic message to Chi—one that he would never get, of course. Finally, I knew I had to come up with something. "How old do I look?" I wondered "I'm…"
"She's eighteen already, Your Majesty." I turned around when I heard Chi's voice.
"My goodness." The queen settled her gaze on me. "How quickly time passes." She reached up, cupping her palm around my cheek. It could have been taken as a motherly gesture, until she trickled her fingertips lightly down to my chin, brushing Ha-Na's scar. "I see that your scar remains."
My spine chilled. Why was she making a big deal out the scar? It was noticeable, but nothing to pick on.
"It has faded. But it remains, still." She gave the scar one last stroke before lowering her hand again. "I do not expect," her lips twisted in satisfaction "that it will ever quite fade completely."