I'm very excited to share this story with you. If you like a beautiful romance, mystery, time travel, and unexpected turns and twists, this is the story for you.

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The chase lasted for hours. An assassin was illusive and similar in his skills of covert operations to the general, whose task was to meet with the newly seated king in Yuan territory and escort him discretely to the palace. The weather was on the side of the culprit: gloomy and rainy, steady grey curtain of water hung from the skies to the ground, obstructing the view, making everything cold and unwelcoming. Choi Young rode wearing a blue hooded cape, which offered some protections fromt he elements. Wiping the rain off his face, he had to squint to see. The road was muddy, making it harder to track the assassin. It was also difficult for the horse, which could not see in the water and had to slow down crossing small streams and pools still expanding from the rain. I need to catch him by nightfall, otherwise, I might lose him for good. Choi Young tried to plan his next move, while on the hunt.

He first noticed a leery black figure with a large brimmed hat hiding in the shadows at the village market place. He confirmed his suspicion after he got a message from Dae Man about the assassin sent to eliminate the new king. Choi Young waited for an opportune moment in the tavern, protected from the wind and rain. He blocked the exit, holding a knife to the assassin's throat: "Who sent you?" The assassin's marshal arts skills were strong, evading the knife, he engaged the general in a fight, at the last moment, running out the door. The black figure disappeared in the darkness, and Choi Young jumped on the horse for pursuit.

He was passing by mystical area of the famous Hwata's gate. As the legend said, a healer, named Hwata, vanished from here, not leaving a trace. A soft glow was coming from the other side of the valley, by the mountains. Not disguised even by the rain, it attracted Choi Young. He realized that there was a possible escape route in that area, as the assassin headed that way. Maybe a secret passage of some sort. The legends are always based on reality, he learned from his teacher. The mountains were always the best place to hide and evade, that's what he would have chosen.

He abruptly changed his course to the left, heading through the forest, wet branches slapping him in the face, but nothing mattered. He had to complete his mission. He stopped at the curve, got off the horse and continued on foot to be less conspicuous. He found a few fresh footprints in the mud and followed them. He stopped at the corner of the rocky protuberance, behind which the glow of the Hwata's gate struggled through the fog and rain. He froze as he felt assassin's presence, cold eyes staring at his back. He ducked quickly to avoid the sword and momentarily freeing his own weapon, turned around, stepping back to make a blow. They engaged in a battle dance: fighting and jumping, attacking and defending, the assassin managed to run toward the opening in the mountain from which the glow was emanating. A secret passage, flashed in Choi Young's mind. Not having the time to assess for danger, he followed the killer into the light.

A swirl of cold wind and a powerful pull engulfed the general, he felt being dragged along a dark tunnel, completely helpless against the force. The pull let go abruptly and he found himself still in a defensive stance standing inside a white rotunda. Before he could even take a breath and study the surrounding, his sharp eyes tracked a black figure was running away. He started the chase. Cacophony of loud noises and multitude of bright lights overwhelmed his senses. This world was completely unfamiliar and strange with houses tall as mountains and wide roads with metal carts whooshing by. The assassin ran across this sea of metal and lights, Choi Young followed. The lights blinded him and stopping, he lifted his hand against his eyes to protect himself, when he heard a screeching sound. An approaching car tried to avoid the head on collision, but his body was smashed by another vehicle from a side. Choi Young felt a huge weight breaking him in half, his body thrown into the air, he came down crashing, holding onto his sword, clasped in his hand. The world went dark with shocking pain and before a fleeting thought - Death.

. . .

You Eun Soo was a surgery intern. Dressed in scrubs, with messy pigtails and large glasses, she could not make herself any more unattractive. She was well aware of what happened to the pretty ones – they were not taken seriously. The male attendees and the professors looked at those women through a different prism, supposedly they could not help themselves. But Eun Soo believed it was bullshit. They are not animals, they are highly educated professionals, for heavens' sake! Still after the first couple of days she quickly realized that she should change her appearance, if she wanted to learn something. "Pretty girls" were given easier assignments, and they aigooed their way out of risky procedures. Even if an attractive female intern wanted to do something different, it would have been hard to change the culture of the clinic and have be taken seriously like a doctor.

Eun Soo did not want to have a boyfriend. She swore off all the guys, after her boyfriend of 3 years, a fellow student, broke up with her in a freight elevator, on the way up from the morgue to the surgery floor. His chaebol parents did not think a daughter of a farmer was good enough for him, so he got engaged with a heiress of some small condom making factory. Eun Soo did not have a chance to kick him in the balls or scream or throw things at him because her hands were full with books and he was carrying a breathing apparatus. What a joke!

That day she worked really hard and even volunteered to take an extra night shift, just to avoid going home to sit in a small room alone, crying, while her roommate and her boyfriend were obviously having a loudly fun time behind the thin wall that separated her from them.

She sat down on a cot in a free room. She drew the blinds and locked the door. Covering herself with a blanket, she crouched and through tears made a wow:
I will not fall for a man again. I will not be used by a man again. I will not trust a man again. Instead, she made a plan – I will become the best surgeon I can be, make tons of money, buy myself on officetel in Gangnam and… Should I find a rich husband? Maybe, just for the money though, she would want to be dressed in the latest fashions, carrying a bag that costs more than her monthly rent now and the heels from Paris runway – all of that would at least satisfy her material needs. Romance? What romance? It is not for her.

It's not like she easily fell in love or dated a lot of guys. In fact, if she were to be honest with herself, even with her last boyfriend, whom she adored for his dorkiness and submissive temperament, she never could say "I love you". Really say it. She did not feel that thing that people talk about or you see in the dramas or read in the books. That something special that lets you know "here is that person" the one that is supposed to complete you.

The pager went off waking her up. A trauma case, a surgery. This one was different. Her professor, her mentor personally requested her assistance. She ran into the emergency room to see the patient and get all the instructions before scrubbing in.