10: Failed Encounter

             Years flew by and Yuna has grown to become a smart, beautiful, and bright 12-year-old that has unlocked the secrets about this world and earth. She had researched countless possibilities and made discoveries that no one could possibly understand in this world. She was indeed in a parallel universe that was not the same as earth.

          None of the historical books had any of the emperors and kings that were known in the modern world. She couldn’t find a single thing in history that matched earth’s records. The gravity was definitely the same and the plants were all the same in this world. The only difference was that this world wasn’t as advanced as earth.

          She had no clue if this was earth. The stars alignment wasn’t the same as earth’s planets and stars. There was also one sun and one moon. The odd thing is that a day is equivalent to 25 hours and not 24 hours. There were slight differences that weren’t noticeable unless someone was purposely trying to compare the two.

          Yuna was in a nation called the Kingdom of Guwon. This nation spoke Korean and it was similar to Korea in the 1000-1400 A.D. Majority of its citizens wore traditional Korean clothing called Hanbok. The food and culture were similar. Yuna discovered that the map of the world was unlike the map on earth.

          There were countless other nations that neighbored the Kingdom of Guwon. There was the Kingdom of Latvia, the Kingdom of Miyon and the Kingdom of Ezra. The Kingdom of Guwon and the Kingdom of Miyon aren’t on good terms. They are on the verge of war, but that doesn’t happen until 7 years later.

          The war was the reason why General Junho wasn’t at home protecting Yuna from execution. Yuna and her father weren’t on good terms in the past lifetime, but he still did his duties as a father. He was still a father that had his daughter’s best interests at heart.

          During the last 12 years, Yuna spent her time on studying and becoming a genius that surpassed even her elders. No one could compare to the little girl. Her parents were observant and immediately recognized their daughter’s potential. They could tell that Yuna wasn’t like most children.

          She had knowledge that was extraordinary and unlike anything they have ever seen. They couldn’t understand half the things she was saying. It occurred to them that she may have knowledge passed down by the gods. There was no explanation for the amazing inventions and gadgets that began appearing all over her bedroom.

          Her father couldn’t help but brag about his amazing daughter. It was to the point that all the guards began getting annoyed by the constant ravings about her. Things have changed drastically. General Junho used to be a scary and cold general that would not tolerate any distractions when it came to work. He was so outstanding that he was able to run an army and still have time to govern a part of their country.

          He wasn’t the type to talk about his personal matters, but recently he just wouldn’t stop raving about the daughter that was so smart and extraordinary. Most could only believe that this general was being a loving father. They didn’t believe most of what the general said about the daughter. None have even had the chance to meet her.

          Those that tried were immediately rejected by the overprotective father. He wouldn’t allow any random person to meet his lovely daughter. Plus, his daughter didn’t enjoy going out to social events. She detested going to parties. His daughter would rather stay at home and read her books.

          At first, he wanted her to meet other people that could play with her, but she was constantly refusing. He became worried that she would become an outcast. He wanted to find kids that could get along with her, but most of them came out of the room crying. Junho and his wife were always getting told that their daughter was way too different to get along with.

          Yuna was so smart that the kids couldn’t understand much of what she said, and the smarter kids would find her to be intimidating. Yuna wasn’t doing this on purpose, but the subjects they discussed were so elementary for her. The kids would always want to play with dolls and play tea party. Yuna wasn’t interested and chose to read instead.

          Yuna began to repeat the same patterns of her previous life. She couldn’t make friends easily. She could tell what most of them were thinking and some of them were very deceptive for being a kid. She just couldn’t find herself being around people that weren’t on the same level as her. She decided it’d be better if she could just be alone without friends for a while. Maybe she could try her luck on being friends with older people.

          Meanwhile, there was another kid that was desperate to get Yuna’s attention. The kid’s name is Han, Minho. He is the second prince/son of the current Emperor of the Kingdom of Guwon. He was also known as Yuna’s ex-husband in the first lifetime.

          Minho had heard rumors from countless servants and nobles that General Junho’s daughter was a smart and beautiful girl. He heard that the General that was usually cold was unusually gentle when it came to his daughter. It was easy for him to guess what his next moves would be.

           Minho was always jealous of his older brother, Jimin for being the center of attention. He also coveted the crown prince position that would eventually lead to him becoming the emperor of their nation. Minho hated that half brother of his that got all the attention. Jimin wasn’t as smart as him and he didn’t know half the things he had to go through to gain some of his father’s approval. All he did was look pretty on that stupid golden chair for the crown prince. He was lucky to have been born just a year earlier than him.

           If only he could have that position, he would be able to rule the world. No one would be able to step on him, not even his own father. He hated that man. He was constantly compared to with Jimin and the other princes and princess’. They would laugh at him because he was born from a laundry servant/slave. That was the lowest position in the palace. They looked at him like he was dirty.

           He couldn’t stand being looked down on by those people. Even if his mother was a slave, he was still a prince. He had the chance to take over crown prince Jimin’s spot if he gets rid of him. There was no way he could kill him when there were too many eyes on him. He didn’t even have the power to fight back. He was a prince that had nothing.

           The only way he could gain this power is if he could find a fiancée that had power. He didn’t care if that girl were as ugly as a cow, he would accept her just as long as she had the backing. He found just the right person at the right time. He just had to find a way to get General Junho’s daughter to meet him in order to marry her.

           He was curious as to see what type of girl she was. She was mysterious and he didn’t have any information on her. No one knew who she was because she had never shown up to any social event or parties. He had met countless noble ladies, but none of them were the General’s daughter.

           He wasn’t too worried about how the girl would react when meeting him. He was handsome and all the girls were in love with him. He was only 10 years old, but all the girls still wanted to speak to him. He was better at socializing with the ladies than any of his brothers. The crown prince was always too cold and scary. His younger brothers were wimps and couldn’t speak to girls. 

           When Minho arrived at the Kim Residence, he was stopped by guards that were in General Junho’s army. The guard immediately recognized the royal emblem on the palanquin and had no choice but to let them through the gate. The slaves that were holding the palanquin gently placed it on the ground. One of the slaves knelt down at the entrance and allowed the prince to step on his back.

           Prince Minho stood before the residence to see beautiful flowers growing in the gardens. He hadn’t been out of the palace for a while and it felt nice. The only thing good about being a normal prince without the crown was being able to move around the kingdom freely. He wasn’t restricted to remain in the palace grounds at all times.

           Crown Prince Jimin didn’t have much freedom because he needed to stay protected at all costs. He was the next in line to replace the Emperor if anything were to happen to the Emperor. Jimin wouldn’t be able to get the support of General Junho so easily. If he wanted to destroy Jimin and his stupid face, he would have to gain General Junho’s favor.

           Minho began walking towards the estate to find where Yuna’s room could be. He came across a servant that was having a difficult time carrying a bucket of water. He stopped the servant too hastily and some of the water splashed on his shoes. He began berating the stupid servant that was clumsy. He usually had a friendly mask on, but he couldn’t stand water.

           Ever since he was young, he had almost drowned to death and he hated the sight of water in lakes and buckets of water. He had aquaphobia and that caused him to explode when the maid spilled water on him. He immediately kicked the servant and said, “You stupid idiot! Next time don’t you dare get in my way! Do you hear? I’m the second prince of this country. You know what the crimes of harming royalty is, right?”

           He motioned with his fingers that her neck would be cut. The servant gulped in fear of being killed for irritating a royal. She shoved her forehead to the ground in hopes that she would be able to survive. She cried, “I’ll do anything. Please spare me, Prince. I won’t ever be so clumsy next time.” The prince hmphed, “Fine. I’ll let it go this time, but I need some information from you. I would like to know the whereabouts of General Junho’s daughter.”

           The servant stuttered in response to his question, “P…Prince…. I.. I can’t tell you that information. Master Junho will kill me for telling you where the miss is. Please spare me.” Minho became enraged and grabbed her hair and pulled till the servant was wimpering in pain.

           Before he decided to hurt the women any further, Junho arrived at the front of the entrance. He came home from training his soldiers and it was almost evening. He walked into this whole situation with the prince and his loyal servant. He wasn’t interested in their squabble until he heard the reason for this spoiled kid’s arrival. He was trying to get his hands on his daughter!

           Junho coughed loudly to gain the attention from the prince. Minho was originally going to make the servant pay, but he noticed a large man standing at the entrance. When he looked up, he found that it was General Junho. There was a cold and dark aura coming from him and his eyes were glaring down at him so frighteningly. Minho could feel his legs grow weak from being in this man’s presence.

           The General broke the silence with his angry voice, “What brings you here, boy? Did you come here to find my daughter? How dare you try to violate my daughter at night?” Minho looked up at the sky and noticed that it was almost sundown. He hadn’t planned for it to be dark so soon.

           General Junho’s residence was quite far from the palace and so he spent most of the day getting there by palanquin. This taught him to ride a horse next time instead of having poor slaves carry him all the way there. He was somehow stuck in this misunderstanding because he wasted his time.

           He was only hoping that the girl would be at the residence and notice him arrive on the palanquin. He wanted to gloat to the girl that he was a prince. She would easily fall for his ploy if she was just outside or if he found her before the general got here.

           He tried to explain himself to the angry general, “Sir, there is a misunderstanding. I just wanted to meet your daughter and I didn’t realize that it was this dark. I came here by palanquin and it took a lot longer than I thought.”

           The General felt disgusted looking at this kid that came to woo his daughter. He was such a puny little wimp that needed servants to carry him here instead of riding a horse himself. Who needed a coward as a son-in-law? He disliked him from the start. No scumbag was going to get married to his precious daughter.

           He looked to be much older than his daughter and he didn’t behave like a proper noble. He didn’t even follow the etiquette in order to meet someone. They must always give prior notice before arriving and they must also meet at a proper time. He was outraged by the fact that this prince thought he could waltz in here thinking that he could meet his daughter in the middle of the night when most people were planning on going to bed?

           This kid needed a spanking and he didn’t care if he was a prince or not. The Emperor would let this slide, even if he were harming a royal. The Emperor knew the true nature of this kid and he was a slimy little brat that got whatever he wanted through dirty means. He didn’t believe that he was as awful as what the Emperor had told him, but after meeting him in person, he couldn’t help but agree with the Emperor.

           This son-in-law wannabe wanted to woo his daughter so easily without any effort. Maybe he thought his pretty boy looks would impress him or even his daughter, but he wasn’t fooling anybody. He was going to cut this before it goes anywhere.

           The General replied to the boy’s obvious rudeness, “I’d like to see you try to get past me. If you can get past me, I’ll let you meet my daughter. If you fail to go past me, you will promise to never step foot in this household at all costs!”

           Minho became angry and felt that the General was trying to humiliate him. He yelled, “HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ROYALTY! I demand that you get down on your knees and apologize for disrespecting me!”

           Junho didn’t even budge an inch after listening to this pipsqueak speak. He roared with laughter, “On what grounds? Do you have any way to make me kneel down? I don’t think so. You may be a prince, but you have no power, my boy. You can’t even lift a sword to protect your life. What makes you think that I would so easily kneel down and give you my loyalty.”

           Minho was stuck trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. He only wanted to meet Yuna, but everything got messed up because of that stupid servant! Minho was defeated terribly by the scary general. He only had one choice but to leave with his tail between his legs. He wasn’t given another chance to meet Yuna because she was always locked up in her room studying like a hermit.