Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Get your asses to work! What’s wrong with those hands?! Is the caviar ready yet? Whoever drags down the rest will be washing dishes for a week!”

In the kitchen of a certain restaurant, a tall man wearing a toque blanche and a matching white outfit was barking orders at the people scurrying around him. The kitchen was full of tantalizing meals that smelled delicious. The sounds of pots and pans clinking together, the hiss of the ingredients being fried, the light footsteps moving back and forth- all of these were directed by the head chef in white. 

“Chef, the Strottarga Bianco and other accompanying dishes are ready!” As the junior chef spoke, his hands were trembling slightly. The dish was worth thousands; if he accidentally made a mistake, the funds he saved up by working his whole life would barely cover the cost. 

“Good, I’ll take over from here. Hurry up with the chocolate millefeuille for Table 3!” As he spoke, the head chef reached out and carefully took away the expensive dish, plating it beautifully on the prepared plates. 

“As expected of the youngest chef in the Blue House…” The junior chef whispered. Yes, his boss was no other than Jang Bong Hwan, the man whose culinary skills were renowned across the country. 

After that incident two years ago, Bong Hwan’s image as a daring and morally upright chef was further established, allowing him to open his own exclusive restaurant. Heaven only knows how he managed to get selected as a staff member working directly under Jang Bong Hwan, but he wouldn’t ever let go of this precious opportunity. 

“If you don’t stop daydreaming, you’ll be the one washing dishes for a week- no, a month!” The junior chef was frightened back into reality and issued a nervous ‘Yes Chef!’ before hurrying away. 

Bong Hwan shook his head. Youths these days were so unreliable. After bustling about and giving instructions to his subordinates, Bong-Hwan decided to take a break on the 2nd floor balcony of his restaurant. 

It had taken him quite a while to get here. Bong Hwan was quite nervous about opening his own restaurant, but with the encouragement of a certain individual, he was able to do so. Now, his restaurant had expanded into a four-storey building located in one of the most influential spots in the city. 

As Bong Hwan looked up towards the darkening sky, his eyes were suddenly blocked by something. “Guess who?” asked a teasing voice from behind him. Bong Hwan was startled, but soon regained his composure and smiled. There was only one person who was close enough to do this to him. 

Unfortunately, his mischievous nature was stirred up. “Hmm.. is it you Ji Hyun? Baby, I know you miss me but-” The hands around his eyes tightened and the voice sounded tense. “...wrong, try again.” 

“Ah, don’t worry. Of course I remember you, Minjae?” 

“... wrong again.” The sound of teeth grinding against each other was heard from behind. Bong Hwan was laughing silently inside, but he pretended to maintain his innocent and confused facade. 

“Sungmin, it must be you right? Wait no, he left on a business trip yesterday… your hands are cool; are you okay, Hyunwoo?”

The sound of low, unamused laughter rang in his ears. “You are as humorous as ever, my Queen. It really hurts my heart to think my Queen is so close with other men, not even sparing my feelings.”

Bong Hwan’s heart skipped a beat. Damn this man for making him feel all mushy and warm inside. Deciding to go easy on him, Bong Hwan smiled and turned around, taking the person he loved into his arms. “I was just kidding, Won Beom. Of course I know it’s you. It could only be you, no one else.”

Bong Hwan could feel Won Beom grumbling in his arms. “I don’t believe you. How did you know his schedule then? You must’ve met him somewhere.” Oops, looks like Won Beom was still pissed about last time. “...I thought I chased off those pests. Tch.”

“Haha… anyways, what have you got there?” Bong Hwan tried to laugh it off as he gestured towards the bag Won Beom had in his hand. “Let me guess… is it a homemade lunch for me?” When he looked at Won Beom, the other still had an unamused smile on his face. Bong Hwan kept his signature charming smile on his face, eyes blinking innocently. 

The two were locked in a stalemate before Won Beom sighed. “...here. I tried making some simple stir-fry like you taught me yesterday.” Won Beom said nonchalantly, trying to brush it off as something insignificant but his reddened ears betrayed him. Bong Hwan’s heart swelled and he smiled happily, deciding to not expose Won Beom. 

“Thanks baby~ I’ll make sure to properly savor everything~” Bong Hwan drawled as he hugged Won Beom again. He knew he was being utterly shameless for a 1.87m-tall man, but he couldn’t help it. Bong Hwan had been a bit nervous that his behavior might put off Won Beom, but the other reassured him that he was fine the way he was. It was a bit awkward at first, but both parties got used to it. Now, Bong Hwan had no qualms acting shamelessly in front of his partner. 

The two chatted and laughed as they made their way inside. It was almost evening, so Won Beom was a bit late in delivering lunch. Nevertheless, Bong Hwan appreciated how Won Beom took interest in his work and worked hard to make him feel loved. 

“How much longer until you get off work?” Won Beom asked as the two made their way to Bong Hwan’s office. “I’m off today, so I can wait until you finish so we can go home together. You don’t mind, do you?”  

“Of course not!... is what I’d like to say, but I might finish late today.” Bong Hwan sighed, mentally recalling his schedule. “There seems to be a big hotshot that reserved the entire 4th floor, balcony and all. Even though only two customers will be dining tonight.”

Won Beom raised his eyebrows. “Table for two? Sounds like the cliche romantic, candlelight dinner meant to impress someone. Who would be tacky enough to do that?” Bong Hwan laughed out loud. He was worried Won Beom wouldn’t adapt well, but his worries were definitely unfounded. Now Won Beom was even more up to date than he was about the latest trends and slang used on the streets. 

Shaking his head, Bong Hwan replied, “I’m not sure. Wanna go check it out?” Confidentiality issues aside, he was the owner of the restaurant and certainly had the right to examine his clients. Bringing along one or two Won Beoms was not an issue for him. 

After Won Beom agreed, the two of them snuck towards the kitchen on the 4th floor. Peeking from the windows of the kitchen doors, the two of them could vaguely see the clients already present, chatting with each other. 

“Why does that man look strangely familiar…” Won Beom mused as he stared at the man’s back. “I swear I’ve seen him before somewhere.” Bong Hwan shrugged. “Maybe he’s a celebrity?” It was natural for him to assume so, since his clientele was composed of wealthy and powerful individuals holding much influence in various fields. 

His partner was sitting across him, so the two of them couldn’t see her face. The woman was dressed elegantly in a beautiful green dress. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Strangely enough, Bong Hwan thought this woman felt familiar to him as well. The two looked at each and tacitly agreed to further their spying operation. 

The kitchen was situated in a way where the two of them could only hopelessly look at the backs of the two mysterious figures. To satisfy their curiosity, Bong Hwan and Won Beom snuck towards the staircase leading towards the fire escape on the other side of the room. They had to be careful since the fire escape and the table where their two clients were sitting were in clear view of each other. 

“You look first, I’ll stand guard.” Bong Hwan whispered to Won Beom as he glanced around. Honestly, he could’ve just used the security monitors to look at whoever was dining there, but this was oddly satisfying and somewhat exciting. Won Beom nodded, an indulgent smile tugging at the corner of his lips. This reminded him of the time when they went undercover for a mission and his Queen dragged him around everywhere. 

Moving lightly, Won Beom slowly peeked out from a corner of the window on the doors. Suddenly, Bong Hwan heard Won Beom inhale sharply. Bong Hwan quickly turned to look at him and saw Won Beom’s fists were clenched while his face was pale. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?” Bong Hwan was about to ask worriedly but was stopped short by Won Beom’s whisper.

“Kim Byeong In?”

Bong Hwan’s eyes widened. What did he just say? 

Bong Hwan had a bad premonition. He hurriedly stood up and pushed his head next to Won Beom, startling the other man. Bong Hwan’s eyes were fixed on the woman sitting across Byeong In. He sucked in a cold breath. It was exactly as he predicted. 

Kim So Yong. 

“What’s wrong with you? What happened?” Pushed aside, Won Beom’s voice carried a trace of grievance. Won Beom was distracted by Bong Hwan and was not able to confirm the other person’s identity. Seeing Bong Hwan’s stunned face however, Won Beom turned again to look at the two individuals sitting at the table. 

And his eyes directly met So Yong’s shocked ones.

Chapter Text

For a moment, it was as if time stood still. 

Bong Hwan couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who looked similar- no, identical to the woman whose body he once possessed such a long time ago. Kim So Yong. Although he never directly met her, her traces were scattered around the places she lived and on the people she interacted with. For God’s sake, he’d inherited her memories and even half-merged with her for a period of time. 

Thanks to that, Bong Hwan struggled with an identity crisis, doubting his sexuality and gender once he found himself back in the modern era. Even when Won Beom came to him, they had some conflicts because both Bong Hwan and Won Beom were struggling with their feelings and the reality that Bong Hwan had a completely different appearance and identity from So Yong. 

Bong Hwan then shifted his eyes onto the man sitting across So Yong, who Won Beom identified as ‘Kim Byeong In’. Damn, it really was him. Mixed feelings of fondness, wariness, guilt and relief welled up in him. On one hand, Byeong In had treated him really well for the entirety of his um, visit back in the Joseon era. 

However, Bong Hwan also knew that his affection was based on the condition that he was using So Yong’s identity, so of course Byeong In treated him well, the imposter who was living in the body of the cousin that he cherished above everyone else. Still, Byeong In sacrificed his life in exchange for Bong Hwan‘s life even after he determined that Bong Hwan was in So Yong’s body. The tears he cried back then when he discovered Byeong In died for him were real. He had even buried Byeong In himself after all. 

But now the two of them were here, just a few feet away from them. What was going on? Bong Hwan was really confused. Did the two of them transmigrate to the modern world somehow, just like Won Beom did? Were these people simply reincarnations of So Yong and Byeong In? Did they retain their memories? Facing all these questions, Bong Hwan was troubled. It’d be one thing if they simply looked like So Yong and Byeong In, but if they retained memories of those ancient times… Bong Hwan’s brows were furrowed as he turned to look at Won Beom next to him. 

“Won Beom, did you-”

“Shit, we need to get out of here now!” Bong Hwan was startled as Won Beom spoke urgently, shaking him from his stupor. “We made eye contact. She saw me!”

Right, they were currently spying on their customers. Not a really good position to be in. Bong Hwan and Won Beom quickly retraced their footsteps and hurried out of there before anything else happened. 

Just in time, as So Yong stood up in shock and stared at the spot where the two were peeking from. 

“Is something the matter, So Yong?” Byeong In questioned as he also turned back to see what disturbed So Yong. Naturally, he could not discern anything and turned to face So Yong again, confused. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“I think,” So Yong hesitated. “I saw someone just now?” 

“Where?”

“Over there, by the fire escape door. I thought I saw something dark flash by..?”

Byeong In frowned, getting up and walking towards the fire escape door. He swung open the door, but there was no one present behind it. Even after looking up and down the stairs and waiting for a while, there was nothing. 

“So Yong, I checked. I didn’t see anything.” Byeong In walked back and held So Yong’s hand.  “Are you sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light?”

So Yong furrowed her brows. Normally she would agree and just drop the subject, but the previous moment was really too peculiar. So Yong swore she made eye contact with someone. The problem was, that someone seemed familiar to her… but from where? Searching through her memories, she found no one that matched the appearance of the person she briefly saw. 

Even if that person was someone she knew, what was that person doing at the staircase, looking at them? Her intuition told her that this matter wasn’t so simple. Lost in thought, So Yong fell silent. 

Byeong In saw that So Yong was still troubled by what she saw. He didn’t find anyone or anything suspicious, but for the sake of his beloved, he decided to pursue this matter further.

“So Yong, if you are still worried, I can contact the owner of this place and ask him to check it out.” 

Shaking her head, So Yong broke free from her thoughts. “It’s okay. Maybe it really was my mistake. I’ve been lacking some sleep these days anyways.”

“That’s not good.” Byeong In said worriedly, as he escorted So Yong back to her chair. “You really should be taking better care of your health. What is your manager doing?”

“Haha, it’s okay. I was too busy before…” Like so, the conversation flowed as they resumed their dinner. However, what So Yong saw lingered in her mind, leaving her a slight feeling of uneasiness. 

-  - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, Won Beom and Bong Hwan narrowly escaped being exposed as they rushed back up the stairs and into an empty lounge. Panting, Bong Hwan crashed into a plush sofa as Won Beom sat right next to him. 

Closing his eyes, Bong Hwan’s thoughts strayed back to what he just witnessed. So Yong and Byeong In. He still couldn’t believe it. Fate really works in mysterious ways. He, a 21st century person, was transported back into the historical era of Joseon and entangled with these three people. 

So Yong, the person whose body he possessed for a short while and even became pregnant while doing so. 

Byeong In, the devoted protector and secret admirer of So Yong. 

And Won Beom. The King of Joseon, who he thought was a mere figurehead at first. Someone who behaved frivolously, even though his life and the country were at stake. Someone who surprisingly protected him, and showed him many new sides of himself. Someone who he slowly, but surely, drew closer and then finally… fell in love with. 

When Bong Hwan returned to his own modern era, he was devastated at the thought of never seeing him again. Of his beloved living happily with the original owner of the body he possessed, and their child. 

His child. Bong Hwan felt teary as he thought of the little life that he carried inside him for ten months. How was he? Did he grow up happily under the care of his parents? Did he… remember him? Or did he only consider Won Beom and So Yong to be his parents?

Bong Hwan felt complicated, feeling a headache oncoming. Turning his head, his eyes reflected Won Beom’s still figure. 

“Won Beom…?”

The person he was calling remained unresponsive. Bong Hwan took a closer look at him, and was taken aback. Won Beom’s eyes were reddened, and he looked extremely pained, with traces of guilt and… regret? 

Bong Hwan felt a twinge of jealousy. What was Won Beom thinking about so intently? Was he recalling his previous memories in the Joseon era, just as Bong Hwan did? Or was he thinking of a specific person whom he shared a bed with… Startled, Bong Hwan shook his head rapidly. 

What was he thinking? Won Beom came all the way from the past to the 21st century just for him. He of all people knew how much Won Beom suffered while doing so. Bong Hwan really shouldn’t be doubting him like this. 

“Won Beom? Won Beom, hey!”

Holding his hand, Bong Hwan was relieved when Won Beom finally responded and turned to look at him. 

“Sorry Bong Hwan. I…” Won Beom began hesitantly, not knowing what to say. Bong Hwan’s heart thumped painfully when he saw Won Beom like this. He felt stifled, not knowing how to let his feelings out. 

“Why don’t we go back home for now?” Won Beom suggested. “After… that, I don’t think either of us are in the mood to go out tonight, right?”

Bong Hwan agreed, reaching out to hold Won Beom’s outstretched hand. Calling the chauffeur, Bong Hwan and Won Beom decided to return, the journey uncharacteristically quiet as they each harbored their own secret thoughts.