Yuna was late. Again.
She darted out of the subway station like a shot, one hand gripping a hot Americano, the other trying to shove tangled earbuds into her bag. The autumn breeze in Seoul was merciless today, snatching her bangs and throwing them into her eyes like it had a personal grudge.
"I swear if Professor Nam marks me absent again, I'm going to file a complaint," she muttered, nearly tripping over her own Converse as she raced up the stone steps of the university's history building.
That's what she got for pulling an all-nighter watching Bridgerton reruns instead of reviewing her medieval history readings.
Tragic.
The exhibit had just opened — something about royal family archives, ancient heirlooms, timeworn weapons, and a cursed mirror that made the student tour guide sound far too dramatic for a Monday morning.
Still, when she slipped into the display hall, panting and ten minutes late, something pulled her straight toward it.
A standing mirror.
Dusty. Cracked in one corner. But elegant in a haunting kind of way. Her reflection shimmered strangely, like the glass didn't quite know what to do with her.
"What's your deal?" she whispered, sipping her coffee and stepping a little closer.
And then it happened.
A sudden rush of air. The sound of tearing fabric. The ground felt like it flipped sideways, and before she could scream, Yuna was falling — not down, but through.
⸻
She landed with a thud on damp earth, her drink launching out of her hand like a rocket.
"OW!" she cried, scrambling to her knees. "What the hell was that?!"
The trees looked different. The sky looked... older, somehow. And the silence? Too quiet. No cars. No phones. No annoying freshman couples yelling into TikTok.
Just the wind. A creek. And—
"Stay where you are!"
A voice — sharp, commanding — rang out from the woods behind her.
Yuna froze.
A group of men on horseback emerged from the trees, dressed like they were on their way to a cosplay convention. But this wasn't Comic Con. These men had real swords, real torches, and really judgmental expressions.
At the front was a man with cold eyes and a jaw so sharp it looked carved from pride itself. He dismounted in one fluid motion, long black coat trailing behind him like he'd walked off the set of Pride & Prejudice: Revenge Edition.
His gaze locked on her.
Ryu Ji-Hwan — though she didn't know his name yet — looked at Yuna like she had just torn through the laws of nature.
"What sorcery is this?" he said, voice low.
Yuna blinked. "Huh?"
Her jeans were covered in mud. Her hoodie was unzipped. And her sneakers — god rest their souls — were soaked.
"You speak strangely," Ji-Hwan continued, stepping closer. "Who sent you? Are you a foreign spy?"
Yuna raised a hand. "Okay, first of all — rude. Second, spy? You're the one with the cape and a sword, so maybe calm the hell down, Zorro."
Ji-Hwan's eyes narrowed. He reached for his sword.
She panicked.
"NOPE." Yuna spun on her heel and bolted into the forest, sprinting like her GPA depended on it.
Behind her, Ji-Hwan just stood there, too stunned to chase.
"That woman..." he murmured, watching the spot where she vanished.
"She appeared from thin air. And she dares to insult me?"
He touched the sleeve of her hoodie that she had torn on a branch — strange fabric, warm to the touch, unlike anything he'd ever known.
"Find her," he said to his guards. "But do not frighten her further."
He looked up at the fading sunlight.
There was something... familiar in the way she looked at him.
Like a star out of place.
Like fate had just played its hand.
⸻
End of Chapter 1
————
Dear reader, 💌
Welcome to "The Duke & the Girl from Nowhere" — a K-Drama-inspired historical fantasy full of slow-burn romance 💫, royal secrets 🏰, and a love so powerful it defies fate 💔➡️❤️.
If you adore protective male leads 😍, bold heroines 💃, palace drama 👑, and stories that keep your heart racing 💥 — you're in the perfect place.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. Let's fall in love together — one chapter at a time.
With love,
Amaal 🤍