By Zephyria 
The thunderous noise was coming from the front door. Someone was outside, pounding on the door like a madman, trying to break it down. Is he insane? What kind of lunatic does that? It’s a front door, not some flimsy wicker gate—how could it possibly break like that?
The sudden, irrational situation was utterly absurd. I tried to check the intercom to see who was doing this and why, but the view was completely blocked, as if it had been intentionally covered. It didn’t sound like just one or two people; it felt like there were several.
“Where’s my phone? Seriously, what is wrong with them?”
I urgently called my brother, but he didn’t answer, likely because he was in class. Dad had gone to Busan, and Seo-joo said he was helping my brother clean the gym today. Should I call Seo-joo then? I hurriedly dialed Seo-joo’s number. But even if he answered, it would take some time for him to get here. Fifteen minutes? Twenty? I decided to inform Seo-joo first and then call the police.
An overwhelming wave of fear washed over me, and my hands trembled as I pressed the buttons. Memories of the past that I wanted to forget resurfaced. Images of people swarming the Imperial Pavilion just to capture me flashed through my mind again. The few seconds of the ringing tone felt like an eternity, leaving me desperately anxious.
-Yeah, Hyung.
Soon, Seo-joo’s voice, which I had been waiting for, came through the phone. But before I could even answer, a crushing sound echoed.
Crash!
“Ah!”
A massive sound, incomparable to the previous ones, shook the entire house. I screamed, and the moment I heard that roar, I instinctively knew the door had been destroyed. At that thunderclap of a sound, I dropped the phone from my hand.
-Hyung?
Seo-joo’s voice calling me sounded loud, but I had no time to retrieve the phone that had rolled away. Along with the sound of something being kicked, the rhythmic sound of dress shoes reached my ears. The footsteps grew closer, and in my desperation, I looked around for something to defend myself with. If I hit someone on the head in an emergency, would it count as self-defense?
“……Cha Hae-joo.”
……?
Huh? That’s strange. Why am I hearing that voice here? I was bewildered to hear a familiar voice, wondering if it was an auditory hallucination. Do I need to start taking my medication again?
“Hae-joo.”
…What is this? Have I really gone crazy? The voice I had only heard in my dreams continued to sound. The low, mid-tone voice echoed in the air, making it feel as if I were actually hearing Joo Min-hyeok’s voice. I must have finally lost it…
The shock of not being divorced must have been too great. There was no way Joo Min-hyeok, who should be playing house with his designated Empress, would seek me out and break down my front door.
Whether that voice was a hallucination or not, I slowly pushed myself up, steadying my trembling body to identify the person who had broken the door and trespassed. The moment I stood up, I saw a pair of luxurious, polished black dress shoes in front of me. For a moment, I couldn’t lift my head and could only stare at the shoes.
Those were definitely artisan shoes that fit all of Joo Min-hyeok’s tastes—the kind he loved. A simple, clean design. Shoes that were said to be made exclusively for the people of the Imperial Family. Seeing those shoes, my Adam’s apple bobbed sharply, and sweat began to pour down my face and back.
Joo Min-hyeok…. Could he really have come here? I forced my stiff, frozen neck to lift. I saw a black suit that fit him perfectly. Past his long legs, a broad and solid upper body came into view. Beyond the wide shoulders and long neck, I faced the face I could never forget, even in my dreams.
The face of the man I had loved appeared. The fresh look of his early twenties was gone, replaced by a fully matured man with bold features. Neatly swept-back hair, a round and straight forehead, and a sharp, high bridge of the nose. The way he looked at me with piercing eyes was the embodiment of a Dominant Alpha, like a beast. And the moment I saw him, my breath hitched.
Perhaps because I was terrified of this unbelievable reality, his appearance—tall and dressed in a luxurious black suit—looked like the Grim Reaper. At least, that’s how he looked to me. Overwhelmed by the presence of that Dominant Alpha, I instinctively recoiled. And Joo Min-hyeok was the same, unable to take his eyes off me.
I couldn’t avoid his obsessively pursuing gaze. Was it really Joo Min-hyeok? Unable to believe this reality, I simply stared at him with my mouth open, when a fragrant scent of earth reached the tip of my nose. The scent of earth soaked in water. That fresh scent of grass that emerges after it rains.
The pheromones of Joo Min-hyeok, which I used to love, pierced my nose. Ah…. It really is Joo Min-hyeok. Only after smelling his pheromones did I realize that the current situation was real. The stiff expression on Joo Min-hyeok’s face, as he stared intently at me, began to soften.
“……I was going to ask if you’ve been doing well, but there’s no need. It’s almost absurd how much better you’re doing than I expected.”
With a faint smile, Joo Min-hyeok’s eyes traveled from my head, wearing a facial headband, down to my pajamas with bears printed on them.
“You’ve been living so ordinarily? I’m a bit hurt.”
Hurt? Why? I remembered the day we last parted. The image of Joo Min-hyeok, who had followed me to the very end but eventually lost me, staring out at the sea. Therefore, there was no way he could have good feelings toward me now.
How he found out I was here wasn’t important. He was a man who could do anything if he set his mind to it. What mattered now wasn’t that, but the reason Joo Min-hyeok had come to find me. Why did he seek me out? To finalize the divorce since it hadn’t gone through?
Articles mentioning the Emperor’s Imperial Wedding had shaken the country. It wasn’t long ago that I saw an article saying he was getting along wonderfully with his designated Empress. Ah, it must be that. That’s why he came. He probably came to resolve this because he couldn’t hold the Imperial Wedding while our relationship remained unsettled.
While my mind was exploding with complexity, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Joo Min-hyeok. He was still exactly as I had loved him. Seeing that perfect figure, unchanged from before, made my heart flutter and my head spin.
“How many years has it been since we’ve seen each other?”
Joo Min-hyeok’s voice trembled slightly. Why was he speaking like that? After coming in so aggressively that he even broke the door. I still couldn’t grasp his intentions or what he wanted from me. I had only just reached a point where I was trying to forget the pain and live my own life. Joo Min-hyeok’s appearance turned those efforts into bubbles in an instant.
“Your Majesty….”
The end of my voice, calling him for the first time in a very long while, cracked and shook. I wanted to maintain my composure, and I tried my best to do so. I wanted to respond indifferently, telling him that I was doing fine regardless of him, so he should just state his business. I really didn’t want to show any weakness. But the moment I opened my mouth, my voice was already faltering.
“How did you… how did you find me?”
I asked his business once more. This time, I put strength into my throat so my voice wouldn’t crack. Joo Min-hyeok, who had remained silent, slowly spoke.
“Find you? Why do you think I ‘found’ you? I might have known all along.”
“……What?”
He knew? Joo Min-hyeok slowly approached me. I kept stepping back, avoiding him as he glided toward me like a black shadow. As expected, he knew. That I was living here. Just as my brother said, he might even know exactly how many spoons are in this house.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve talked face-to-face like this. We have quite a lot to say. And things to resolve, don’t we?”
Resolve? As I thought, the divorce must be the problem. I didn’t expect to meet Joo Min-hyeok again. Especially at twenty-five, the age when I died in the original story. I wanted to know if the ending had ultimately remained unchanged. Even if I met him, I wanted to survive past the year I turned twenty-five, the age at which the Grand Imperial Concubine died.
I dreamed of a future with Seo-joo and my father, whom I had reunited with, rather than him. I wanted to live well, if only for my brother who always protects me. That was all. But why is this tie so persistent? I wanted to know what Joo Min-hyeok was thinking and what plan was in that head of his, but there was no way to know.
“Were you surprised that I suddenly showed up?”
“……Your Majesty.”
Joo Min-hyeok continued to corner me, and I didn’t stop backing away. That confident curve of his lips and that gaze. That expression of Joo Min-hyeok’s had not changed. His steps toward me quickened.
“Why, why are you crying?”
Looking at my reddened eyes, Joo Min-hyeok murmured quietly.
“Is meeting me again so horrific that tears are welling up like that?”
The faint smile remaining on Joo Min-hyeok’s face began to vanish.
“But what can we do? It doesn’t matter. Even if it’s that horrific, it can’t be helped. Cha Hae-joo. No. Grand Imperial Concubine.”
Driven back into the room, my heels hit the bed, and I fell straight onto it. Then, Joo Min-hyeok climbed over me as if pouncing, gripping both my hands tightly so I couldn’t resist.
“At first, I tried not to look at you—the one who abandoned me without even listening to what I had to say.”
Abandoned? I abandoned Joo Min-hyeok? Are we even talking about the same situation? I didn’t abandon him; I ran away to escape him. Why is the memory so distorted?
“But then, I simply changed my mind. I realized that letting you go was an act of madness. I thought about it countless times.”
His grip tightened on my interlaced fingers. I felt pain from the immense pressure, but I had no room to worry about the pain.
“I regretted it countless times. I shouldn’t have let you go when I followed you back then. I didn’t think I would go this long without knowing that you hadn’t divorced. I was too late.”
Joo Min-hyeok, who had set a trap and waited for a long time, had finally moved himself to find me when I didn’t come. Under that intense gaze, I felt extreme tension and swallowed hard.
“I finally found you. I’ve finally found you.”
There was even a hint of madness in his smile as he said he had finally found me. Seeing the smile that appeared at the corners of his mouth, my mind went blank as if I were in a dream.