Abby woke with a start in the darkness later. She peered over at the clock and groaned. The red numbers shone back at her reading 3 a.m. Abby had broken the cardinal rule for Jet Lag; never go to sleep as soon as you arrive. She cursed at herself for allowing her body to take control. Oh well, no use in crying over spilled milk. What was done was done and in the past. Abby flicked on the light beside her bed and reached for her cell phone and the hotel pad of paper. She decided as she was awake to look up the local area and plan out her next day and possibly the two after. Vowing that she would not go to sleep early tonight and wear herself out so she could properly adjust to the local time. Propping herself up on her pillow she set to her task with gusto, getting excited by all she was seeing. The local markets looked exciting especially Dongdaeum, Myeongdong and Namdaemun. She might save the markets for closer to the end so she did not spend all her money shopping in the first couple of days. She scanned through a couple more popular sites but the thing that stood out the most was the historic palaces and tours offered to see them. After seeing so many Korean costume dramas filmed around the palaces and based on the former occupants, Abby was the most excited to see them. It would be so cool to walk in the footsteps of such famous former occupants and imagine the life they lived. Abby stretched out on her bed day dreaming, her life mixing into a Korean drama. It left her smiling to herself about what kind of drama she would be in and how her life would go. She sighed and looked over at the clock and growled at the numbers appearing there. Only two hours had passed while she had been on her phone. Abby prowled around her hotel suite and decided the large bathtub looked inviting. She was glad she had splurged on the luxurious hotel suite at the Four Seasons. Pouring some of the fragrant bath oils provided by the hotel into the tub, she turned on the taps to a hot, steamy bath. Abby dipped a toe into the tub making sure the water was not too hot and then slid into the bath water. It was perfect. The hot water relaxed her tense muscles and she lapsed into a trance state, relaxing but not sleeping. After an hour of soaking and refilling the water so it would not get cold she decided it was time to get out. Quickly lathering up with the exotic smelling bath soap and the wonderful hair products, she rinsed off and popped out of the tub. The soft towels felt wonderful and she almost regretted getting dressed. Donning the sundress and cardigan, she stared at her reflection. Her jade green eyes peered back at her from under the terry towel with hints of her unruly curly red hair peeking out from underneath it. Circles were starting to form under her eyes of her pale alabaster, see through skin that she rarely saw for her age at 20. She sighed as she thought of the makeup she would need to hide the circles. She hated wearing a lot of makeup but she would have to wear some to hide the catastrophe her eyes were. She stretched out to her full 5'7" height and wished she was a bit taller. Abby had been ridiculed at family functions for being one of the shortest of the girls. With her Scandinavian background most of the girls were 5'9" and the boys were all over 6 feet. That was another thing she loved about being here. She was above the average height and no one would make fun of her. But compared to her all the women were so tiny and petite. Finding clothing for her height might be difficult. Even with a slender frame for her height she was still a size 6 in US sizes. She was also considered quite voluptuous. She hated trying to find tops to fit her chest without them emphasizing the size. Oh the horrors of having large breasts. Another family trait she had to curse her ancestors with along with her hair and pale skin. Abby took the towel out of her hair and began drying her hair. The unruly mess of curls was being especially difficult today. Giving up she twisted the mass of hair into a bun at the nape of her neck and used her favorite butterfly hairpin to hold it in place. The pale, green floor length sundress, matched with an almond cashmere sweater suited her pale complexion. Abby dabbed on some concealer under her eyes and went with a casual makeup, only putting on a pale pink lip gloss and mascara. She finished the look with the diamond studs her parents had given her at her high school wait graduation and a 14k gold necklace her mother had given her on her 16th birthday with the name Princess scrawled in cursive. Abby smiled as she put the necklace on. It was a bit of a family joke. Her mother had called her Princess for as long as she could remember and the rest of the family had adopted it. Joking all the time, asking, "Is there anything our Princess needs?" "How can I be of service, Oh My Princess, I bow down before thee." "How is Her Royal, High and Mightiness, the Princess today?" At times it was annoying but most of the time Abby being good natured in general would just roll with it, smiling and laughing with everyone else. Looking at the clock Abby groaned again and felt like throwing it against the wall. Getting ready after the bath had only taken another hour as the time read only 7 a.m. Well she supposed that was early enough to go down for breakfast at the local hotel restaurant at least. Grabbing her purse she headed to the closest elevator and pressed the button for the floor that the restaurant was located on. Upon entering she scanned the food and decided to go for something safe and familiar. Orange juice, eggs and bagels seemed safe enough. No use starting the day off with a rotten stomach. Abby relaxed into the comfortable seat and slowly ate her breakfast. There were exotic looking flowers she was unfamiliar with around the buffet; the luxurious breakfast that was laid out had cuisine from all over the world. The chatter around her was in all different languages but she easily picked out the English and Korean. She hoped that for her first day around she would find either enough English speaking people or that her knowledge of Korean would get her through it. After filling her stomach to a comfortable level but not over indulging Abby decided to seek out the Concierge and see what advice he had for visiting first. Making her way down to the lobby she saw a desk off to the side labeled in both English and Korean as the Concierge desk. In it sat a young man possibly a few years older than her. He bowed as she approached and asked in perfect English, "How may I assist you today, Miss?"
"I am looking to see what might be the first thing you would recommend I see here in my stay in Korea?"
"Well that all depends on what your likes and interests are?"
Abby slowly explained to him what her interests and likes were. He smiled at her when she mentioned K-Dramas, especially the historic ones.
"From what you have told me more than likely your best bet is too start off with a tour of the beautiful, historic Palaces. I can set you up with a personal tour guide who will personally take you through the sites and their history. It will take most of the day so if you like I can set you up with a dinner reservation at a local restaurant once you are finished"
"That sounds fabulous, thank you so much."
"You are more than welcome. If you want you can just wait in the lobby chairs. It will take about a half hour to set up. I will call you once your car and driver are ready to take you to meet your tour guide."
Abby smiled in response and went to wait in the lobby chairs. Pulling out her cellphone and headphones, she place one earbud in and left the other out so she could hear her name being called. Abby sank back into the comfortable chair and let the familiarity of her song list lull her into a trance like state. Almost exactly a half hour later she heard her name being called, " Ms. Quelsy?"
"Here," she replied, jumping to her feet. The concierge introduced her to her driver, a clean cut Asian man of about 5'5" in a pressed black suit. Bowing to her slightly in greeting the driver escorted her out to a black Mercedes Benz. Wow, the hotel did not skimp on the luxury, she thought to herself. The smell of clean leather surrounded her as they drove through the city to meet her tour guide. The driver informed her that after he dropped her off he would be back at 5:30 p.m. to take her to her dinner reservations. In a low voice he stated, "If you have any issues or problems do not hesitate to call the hotel. I or one of the other drivers will come pick you up. Otherwise just at the same spot where I will be dropping you off and I will be there to escort you to your dinner reservation." Smiling Abby thanked the driver. She double checked her purse to make sure she had brought battery packs to film or take pictures today. As they neared the palace compound Abby's jaw dropped. It was stunning, more stunning in person than any of the K-Dramas depicted on film. The driver dropped her off and before he left introduced her to her tour guide, Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim was a middle aged man apparently in his 50s. He was extremely knowledgeable and kind and explained that it would be a private tour with just him. Abby was shocked. She had thought it would be a large tour with multiple people. But to have such a knowledgeable guide to her was fantastic. They spent the entire day exploring the grounds while Abby chattered away excitedly and asking tons of questions. Mr. Kim lead her deftly though the history of the palaces. The long history of Kings, Queens, and court members who had lived there, the tragic occupations and burnings by the Japanese and the people's will to restore and rebuild them to their former glory. At the end of the day they had come at last to the most popular of the palaces structures where most of the historical dramas were filmed. Mr. Kim informed her that they closed every Thursday to allow for the filming of what could not be recreated on set. "In fact I have a friend who helps with the costumes on the dramas; she helps care and create a lot of the costumes on set."
Abby sighed wistfully, "I would die happy if I could try on a historically accurate outfit. The hanbok dresses are so beautiful."
Mr. Kim looked at her slyly, "My friend is actually dropping off some of the costumes that will be filmed in a drama tomorrow. If we ask her nicely maybe she will let us have a peak."
They set off to a far corner of the complex with Abby almost skipping along the way. Soon they came along a short, plump woman who was hauling boxes in a wagon. Mr. Kim hailed her and then introduced her to Abby, "Ms. Yeung, this is Abigail Quelsy, Ms. Quelsy this is Ms. Yeung."
Ms. Yeung and Abby bowed slightly to each other as Mr. Kim explained why they were there, "I am giving Ms. Quelsy a tour and she informed me that she loves all things to do with Korean history. She was especially excited when I told her about you and the clothes you make. We were wondering if you might do us the favor of showing them to us."
Ms. Yeung beamed at Abby and said, "I would be more than happy to do so if you would help me with bringing the costumes in."
Abby jumped at the chance and agreed immediately. They headed out to a large box truck and started hauling in boxes to a small side building that Ms. Yeung had indicated they were to be stored in. Abby followed Ms. Yeung into the building into a small side room where racks were laden with dozens upon dozens of hangers. She helped unload and hang out each of the costumes, lovingly caressing the different fabrics of each. Ms. Yeung explained that the costumes for the extras would just be hung up but the main actor's costumes or those used in tomorrow's shoot must be hung and then pressed carefully. In one box Abby unloaded the most breathtaking dress; the dress was made of the most beautiful silk. The top was a deep violet with crimson flowers embroidered around the edge. The skirt was a light green with a sky blue stipe of fabric along the bottom and silver stars embroidered along its edge. Abby fingered the dress lovingly and wistfully thought of what it would be like to wear it. Ms. Yeung noticed and smiled, asking if she would like to try it on.
Abby stammered, "Yes, but how could I. I would be terrified I would ruin it. Besides it will never fit me."
Ms. Yeung laughed, "Well we will have to bind your chest down to get the top on, but that is actually very authentic for the time period. A voluptuous chest on a woman was considered scandalous for a lady and only a giaseng would go unbound wearing a dress of this quality. I will help you into the dress. It may be a bit short on you in the skirt but otherwise I think it will fit well."
Ms. Yeung brought her behind a screen divider, helped her bind her chest and then set up the rest of the clothing for her to change into. "I should get back and bring in more boxes." She stood back to look at Abby, "I could bring in a wig if you would like to try one of those on to but your hairstyle is appropriate for a married woman of the time period."
She left Abby to change and closed the door behind her. Feeling freer since she was alone Abby quickly donned the dress and turned to look at herself in the mirror. She felt so beautiful in it. She ran her hands along the skirt. She would kill to dress like this all the time, except for the bosom binding. She could do without that. The skirt was a bit short falling just below mid-calf. Abby was about to leave and find Ms. Yeung to help her undress when she noticed an odd bit of writing on the wall Scratched into the wall as if my a knife or sharp object. It appeared to be in Chinese characters but as her Chinese was not the greatest compared to her Korean. She ran her fingers along the letter and they glowed softly, changing to English; reading thus: Fate is waiting; Fate surrounds you; Fate will bind you and bring you to those who need you. As Abby muttered the words to herself under her breath she heard a loud popping sound and felt a bit queasy as if she had changed altitudes too quickly. She glanced back at the lettering. It still glowed and Abby wondered if the wood was too thin in this part of the building and the sun was shining through the letters.
Abby shook off the chill that she felt run up her spine and went in search of Ms. Yeung and Mr. Kim. It was getting late and she needed to get undressed so she would not be late for her dinner reservation. Pushing back the divider she opened the door to her left and never even noticed that all the costumes had disappeared from the room. Abby hurried down the corridor towards what she recalled as the exit to the building and ran headlong into a man in military uniform. The smell of sweat and leather assaulted Abby's nose. She lifted her head to gaze at the man who was almost the same height as her. Both of them stared at each other in shock. Abby thought, had the drama started filming early or was this one of the guards that she had heard so much of in the changing of the guards? The man started shouting at her, and Abby backed up, bowing and apologizing in Korean. The guard continued to shout at her and the words sounded Korean but not quite right. She looked at him puzzled and tried backing up again as he and a group of guards advanced on her the man in the lead still shouting. Abby managed to make out a few words, it sounded as if she was being asked who she was and what she was doing there. Uh oh, thought Abby, had she gone the wrong direction in the building and gone some where she was not supposed to be. She stammered to the guard again in broken Korean that she had been brought here on a tour and that she must have gotten lost, again apologizing profusely. The lead officer barked an order and Abby was grasped along the sides of her arm and the men started hauling her along forcefully. Starting to panic Abby wondered what had become of Mr. Kim and Mrs. Yeung. If she could only find them they could clear up this misunderstanding. As they dragged her into the bright sunlit courtyard she blinked clearing her eyesight. Everywhere around her bustled countless people. Eunuchs, court officials, and palace maids, each busily going about there business. Abby blinked again harder, shock and panic starting to take over. What was going on here? Had she stumbled onto a part of a closed set that had already started filming? Was this why she was being escorted away so forcibly? Was she in trouble for trying on one of the costumes? If so this seemed extreme. Everyone in the courtyard was stopping their work and staring as the guards dragged her by. No wonder, it was certainly odd. Not everyday you see someone being forcibly escorted. Abby managed a small squeak and asked her captors where she was being taken and what was going on? But she only received a sharp yank and a command for silence. Then from off in the distance came a familiar refrain from her K-Drama shows, " Chona!" Chona??? What on earth, they really must be in the middle of filming. Suddenly the guards pressed her to the ground into a forced bow. All Abby could see was a pair of black leather embroidered boots walking toward her. Confused and scared she waited with baited breath for what would happen next.