Waking Up in the Kangyu Dynasty

Present day

Zane's first breath was sharp, stinging from the unfamiliar air, and he gasped as if drowning. His eyes snapped open, but the world before him was a disjointed blur—a haze of shapes and figures that he struggled to make sense of. 

His surroundings were not like the chilly, antiseptic room at the hospital he had expected. Instead, he was laying on a firm, hard bed, surrounded by thick tapestries and the dim flickering of candles. He could smell burning wax and old wood in his nose.

Confusion clouded his mind.

Where am I? 

A sharp wave of pain hit him, not physical but deeper. He was shot, and while he missed the bullet, he fell from a thirty-storey building, straight into a pool. And in those last moments, he had seen the love of his life, Vanessa die because of him. The one person he'd loved, the woman who had meant everything, died in front of him, and he couldn't save her.

“Vanessa…” he whispered as a lone tear escaped his eye.

That was when his eyes met a pair of familiar ones staring right back at him, his heart stopped. For a fleeting moment, he thought he had ended up in hell. Where else could he meet her again?

But when he cupped her face and crashed his lips against hers, the rush of warmth that surged through him made him rethink. Hell could never feel this heavenly. And yet, heaven was out of reach—for both of them. Given the sins they’d committed over the years which forever condemned them.

The fate of a mafia lord and his gun-moll might be anything but heaven.

So, where are we?

"What on earth do you think you’re doing?" the woman pushed him away.

Her voice startled him, breaking through the haze in his mind. His gaze lingered on her, taking in the details he had missed in his desperate delirium.

The face, those exquisite brown eyes, her dusky complexion—even the delicate shape of her jawline—it all resembled Vanessa. But the rest of her? Completely different.

She was adorned in jewels, her figure draped in unusual traditional attire. She wasn’t Vanessa.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice hoarse as he rubbed the remnants of sleep and confusion from his eyes.

The woman stood there, staring down at him, her face unreadable.

Sure, she had an uncanny resemblance to the woman he’d loved and lost. But she wasn’t his Vanessa.

Then, who exactly was she?

On top of that, why was he with her?

What just happened?

Did I not die?

And if I didn't, then is Vanessa alive as well?

Was it all a dream?

Where the f*ck is Jonathan when you need him?

Does he even know?

Zane had many questions but to answer them, only the lady in front of him.

"My name is Princess Vaani of Dharakand," she said proudly, eliciting a scoff from him. He would have believed her if she said she was Vanessa's long-lost twin, but this?

He rolled his eyes, "And I'm Prince Zane of Seoul."

"You're a prince?" The female exclaimed, her eyes wide out of surprise.

"Where is Seoul Province?" A male in a blue hanbok emerged from behind her, flashing a wide smile. "Does it happen to be close to Kangyu?"

"Wait?" The female intervened, her fingers leisurely tracing the scar on his face. "Are you related to Kang Yeonho in any way?"

"Who is this Kang Yeonho?" He blinked, annoyed, yanking her hands away from his face. "Even you resemble my dead girlfriend. Did I complain?" He whined, pointing a finger at her, his nose scrunched. "And where the hell am I?"

As he took in his surroundings, his eyes widened and mouth hung agape.

Everything around him, from the mysterious princess to the hanbok guy and even the traditional Korean hanok, with traditional items, reminded him of historical dramas and movies.

"You're in Namgyeol," the hanbok guy replied. "The capital of the Kangyu dynasty."

"Ka-Kangyu?" He exclaimed, repeating the words and blinked his eyes in disbelief. "Kangyu Dynasty?"

"Yes!" The princess nodded.

"Is this some kind of prank?" He burst out laughing, but soon clutched his head as it began to ache. "You!" He directed his index at the female. "Did Lorenzo hire you to trick me?"

"Do you even know who I am?" He began to yell, the veins in his neck and forearms popping as he clenched his palms into fists. "You may look like Vanessa but you can't be her. No one can be her."

"Who is Vanessa?" She exclaimed, her tone soft yet curious. But before he could utter a word in his response or get more angry at the female, he was stabbed with a needle and put to sleep.

"Why did you do that?" The female exclaimed, followed by a male voice that Zane could only dimly hear. "He was getting aggressive."

Perhaps he was dreaming, possibly hallucinating. What if he was drugged?

All of these possibilities raced through Zane's mind as he regained consciousness, blinking his eyes open in the hope of getting back to his senses and, most likely, home.

But as soon as he opened his eyes, he found his legs and hands tied to the four corners of the bed, preventing him from moving. Next to him on the same bed slept the same blue hanbok guy who had knocked him off earlier.

The boy appeared to be young, no older than twenty. Zane wondered if he'd seen the guy before, or if he was one of Lorenzo’s men. But again, he seemed too young to be a member of some mafia gang.

"Hey, kid!" he yelled, startling the hanbok guy awake.

"Whooo did you just referred to as a kid?" the guy replied, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"You, who else is here?" Zane rolled his eyes.

"Mr-," the boy retorted as he shifted into a seated posture, "I'm the royal physician here, you mustn't-”

"Yeah! As if," Zane mocked, refusing to let go of his guards at the boy's ruse. "Now, if you don't want me to cut your head off, tell me who exactly you are and why you brought me here." He clenched his jaws, straining against the restraints; already exhausted from being tied over and again.

"I just told you, didn't I?" The boy shrugged, his face blank. "The princess found you in the lake last night. You were dying, she figured you're trying to kill yourself so she..."

"Princess!" Zane scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yes, Princess!" The boy repeated, furiously. "Her highness has been so gracious to you, saving your life, and yet you are so unthankful."

"All right...for a moment, I'll believe it's the Kangyu dynasty, and you're the royal physician and she's a princess..." Zane agreed, rolling his eyes, and intended to put the boy to the test.

He hadn't been much educated and all, but he did know enough about the Kangyu Dynasty's history, thanks to his mother who insisted he was a descendant.

And if the physician boy was lying, he was capable of outwitting him and discovering the truth.

"What year it is exactly?" Zane asked.

"1025," replied the boy with a frown of confusion.

And surprisingly, it did click.

"Wait...is her name Vaani Singh by chance?" Zane gasped, his mind flitting between the pages of the history books he'd read, the dates, names, and tales. "Your princess-" Ofcourse, he was able to connect the dots now as to why she appeared a familiar face.

"You're not meant to address a princess..." protested the boy, only to be cut off by Zane's loud screaming voice.

"Holy sheeeeeeeet!"

"What is your king's name?" Zane queried agitated, his eyes bulging like saucers. "Who is in command?"

"Kang clan's-" began the boy, and Zane suddenly interrupted.

"Stop! Stop right there," he gasped for air, his forehead drenched in sweat.

"Would you mind doing me a favor?" He quickly exclaimed, gazing up at the boy with pleading eyes. "Slap me in the face."

"What?" Zane's comments stunned the boy, and he stumbled backwards.

"Just slap me in the face. I'm sure I'll wake up," he repeated, his eyes glinting with hope as he looked at him.

"But," the boy argued, a scowl of discomfort plastered on his face.

"Please... just do what I say." Zane begged, and the physician did as requested.

He did slap Zane across the face, with all his strength, turning his pale face scarlet and causing his ears to go deaf for a minute or so. All he could hear was a loud beeping noise.

"I didn't..." Zane gasped, his eyes again bulging like saucers out of shock.

"Mr., you are not sleeping. It's daylight, and you're wide awake." The boy snapped at him.

"This can't be," Zane said as he rolled about on the bed, laughing. "I'm in the Kangyu dynasty..." He laughed out loud once more. "This can't be...is it a near death experience?"

"You're a doctor, right?" he questioned, abruptly turning to face the young physician. "Tell me am I sick? I'm sure I'm hallucinating."

"If anything, you're crazy," the younger snarled, to which Zane's laughter faded in no time. "Ever since you've regained consciousness, you've been talking in a silly way."

"This is why I had to tie you up."

"Look, brother," Zane abruptly changed his demeanor into a calm one. "I guess I've lost my memory." His eyes unexpectedly softened as looked at the younger. "Would you please untie me? I need to go out and regain my memories."

"I cannot allow that," the young physician denied flatly. "The princess has ordered that I keep you here and treat you well until you recover."

"But this is not helping," Zane urged. "It on the contrary feels like you've abducted me, if anything."

"In order for me to get better, I need to roam around and recall my memories back. Since at the moment I'm not even sure as to who I am," he added, his brows furrowed as he continued further.

"Would your princess also not want me to get better when she comes to see me next?"

"You're right," the boy sighed as he went deep into thoughts.

"But," he added after a brief pause, "I still can't."

"Why?" Zane grumbled, his agitation growing with the younger's adamance.

"Because you were attempting suicide when she rescued you. If I let you go that way, you may try-"

"Do you think I'd do that?" Zane implored, his almost teary eyes begging for physician's mercy as he pinched the bridge of his nose, fake sobbing. "But what if I'd been pushed into the water by someone else? What if someone intends to murder me? I need to—in order to figure out what's going on."

"All right," the boy sighed, defeated in front of Zane's fake tears. "But you only have 60 minutes. Make it quick."

"Thank you," Zane beamed a toothy smile as the young physician untied his confines.

The royal lake. Zane thought, as he looked around for the water body. It has to be the answer.