#v fanfiction
prompt : ( Taehyung x Reader ) You get lost while exploring the woods with a couple friends, this unknowingly leads to you going back in time and meeting the love of your life. The only problem is that, of course, you can’t stay.
genre : romance , angst , time travel au
word count : 5k
muse insp : Christina Perri - A Thousand Years ( spotify,youtube)
note : if you’ve seen this story before, it’s because it was on my previous blog, jungtookthejams. i’ve moved it to this one because i worked so hard on it.
disclaimer : i did my research for this fic, some of the information is true while some of it is made up for the sake of the plot.
—
It was a normal day for you, at first. You woke up in your queen sized bed, rolled around in the soft sheets and comfortable blankets for about an hour, then finally decided to get up and make some breakfast. You ate by yourself, then sat on your couch and watched some Korean dramas.
Just a normal Saturday.
Your friend, Mina, texted you, asking if you wanted to come with her and her boyfriend into the woods for a night. Her boyfriend was into supernatural stuff and the like, so this didn’t surprise you.
Y/N:yeah, whatever. As long as i don’t third wheel the whole damn time
Minass:lmao ok, meet us at the 7/11 at 7pm. We might stay the night
Y/N:wtaf
Minass:u’ll see! It’ll be fun!
Y/N:leave me be, peasant. I’ll be there
Minass::D
She was really too much sometimes, but you loved her nonetheless. And so, you began to gather some belongings into a small bag to take with you. Your phone, its charger, a few articles of clothing, and your water bottle. With that, you sat back down and waited until it was time for you to get dressed and leave.
* * *
Mina was waving at you from her boyfriend’s car in the parking lot when you arrived. You couldn’t help but chuckle as you walked over to the black vehicle, welcoming yourself to sit in the back seat.
“Hey, Y/N,” The boy in the driver’s seat greeted you, flashing you a small grin in the mirror.
“Hi, Kennah,” You smiled back at him as you fasten your seat belt, getting comfy in the leather seats, “Thanks for letting me come.”
“No problem,” He responded as he began to drive down the road.
“Y/N,” Mina giggled, “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” You murmured, “Glad to have all my projects and essays done for midterms.”
“Ugh,” You friend groaned, “I still have to finish my essay on the Goryeo Dynasty. Can you go over it with me? You’re a history nerd!”
You sighed, “All right, I’ll quiz you on what I know off the top of my head. First of all, what year was the kingdom of Goryeo established?”
“Um,” Mina mumbled, “908 CE?”
Shaking your head, you sighed, “No, no, it was 918 CE. Who established it and was the first king?”
“Oh!” Mina smiled, “I know this one! It’s-”
“Taejo,” Kennah cut her off, smirking, “King Taejo.”
Mina pouted and stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend, making you chuckle, “Correct. Now, Mina, who were Taejo’s three sons?”
“Okay, um, Namjoon, Taehyung, and.. Seokjin?” The girl stuttered, seeming unsure of her answer.
“Yes!” You grinned at her, “Which one of the three was the crown prince, and later went on to become one of the greatest rulers in Korean history?” You smirked internally; it was a trick question.
“The crown prince was Kim Seokjin,” Mina explained, “However, he never became king because he was assassinated before he could, he was age twenty-five at the time. Instead, Kim Namjoon, the second oldest, went on to become king when he was twenty-nine, and he went on to become one of the greatest rulers in Korean history.”
You clapped excitedly as Kennah went to hold Mina’s hand while smiling at her.
“Well done!” You exclaimed happily, “Now what happened to the youngest, Taehyung?”
“Kim Taehyung was more interested in writing and art than politics. The books Professor Choi made me study actually said that he resented being a prince! So he preferred to stay low and work on his art. He was happy, at least, to not be the crown prince. He became a famous artist later in time, but during his own time, he was more of a loner. He still got married, an arranged marriage, but it was said that he wasn’t happy with the marriage and didn’t have kids at all. His art and literature became famous much after his passing.”
“Yes!” You giggled, giving her a high-five, “Who’s the nerd, now?”
“Still you,” She stuck her tongue out at you.
* * *
“All right,” Kennah chuckled, pulling into a section of dirt beside the forest, “We’re here.”
“Wonderful,” You mumbled, “We’ve been in that car forever. Where even are we?”
“Sorta near the border,” Mina responded, getting out of the car with you and Kennah following her, “The Manwoldae Palace, or what’s left of it, isn’t that far from here. Cool, right?”
“What,” You laughed, leaning against the car, “You think the ghosts of the royal family are here?”
“Maybe,” Kennah grinned, looking into the dark forest in front of you all, “Come on, let’s go.
“I regret this already,” You sighed, following the couple into the darkness. But within minutes of stepping foot in the woods, you lost sight of them.
“Hey, guys?” You called out, “Can you come back here? Mina, can I grab your sleeve? I can’t see shit.”
You, however, got no response.
“Guys?” You called out again, gripping your bag in a slight panic, “This isn’t funny!”
Absolute silence greeted you. Beginning to freak out, you pulled out your phone, only to realize that you had no signal. Groaning, you covered your eyes with your hand and sighed.
“Okay,” You mumbled, “If I just turn and go back the other way, I’ll get to the car and I can wait for them there.”
So, you set off the way you came, using your fully-charged phone (you’d kept it on the charger in the car) as a flashlight to guide your way out of the condensed, dark forest. Swiping branches out of your way, plants nipping your legs bare legs (you only wore a plain black shirt and combat shorts with a pair of boots), and getting smacked in the face by several leaves, you attempted to navigate yourself back to the car. After minutes of walking, you became uneasy as the trees seemed to become endless. Shouldn’t you be back at the car by now?
Suddenly, a thick fog rolled into your vision, making it even harder to see. Was it even supposed to be foggy tonight? Hell if you knew.
Squinting your eyes as an attempt to see through the mist, you staggered forward, when your foot caught on something and you were sent tumbling down onto the hard ground. Groaning in pain, you lifted your head and used your hand to blindly search for your phone. The second your fingertips touched the cool plastic of your mint coloured phone case, you took hold of it and used a nearby tree truck to pull yourself up and balance yourself on.
Huffing, you turned your focus back ahead of you and continued trekking, the light from the flashlight on your phone illuminating your path. Or, the fog in your path. The light was useless now, but better than walking in the pitch black dark. You continued to walk, silently cursing Mina for dragging you into this mess until something odd came into your scrutiny.
Was that a.. palace? An ancient Korean style palace?
There was no way, the remains of the ancient Goryeo palace may have been near where you and your friends decided to explore, but no one has built a recreation of the palace, especially not near the original location.
Deciding to shrug it off – who cared? Where there’s any type of palace, there are probably people who can get you out of here – you continued walking through the woods to get to the large structure. Around it were torches; real, on-fire torches. You had to give it to the reenactors, they went all out to make sure it was olden-like.
You turned off your phone’s light and stuck it back in your bag as you approached, there were two men dressed as ancient guards standing in front of the palace gates. One saw you walking towards them and seemed to do a double take before pointing the tip of his spear at your throat as you were about to speak, blood almost trickling down your throat.
The other guard glared harshly at your pathetic figure, “Halt. State your name and business, why are you at the Manwoldae Palace at this ungodly hour?”
Eyes slightly wide, you took in their appearance and words. The Manwoldae Palace was destroyed sometime in the fourteenth century, it was burned to the ground and there was no recreation of it as far as you knew. What were these men talking about?
You gulped, “Um, my friends and I were going to explore the woods a little, but I ended up getting lost. Our car shouldn’t be far from here-”
“What is this ‘car’ you speak of, outsider? Why are you at the palace gates? Do you wish to do harm to the royal family of Goryeo?” The guard with the spear to your throat pressed, shoving the sharp tip further into your skin.
“N- No!” You squeaked, “I- I am simply lost.”
“Lost?” The other guard narrowed his eyes, “Where are you from?”
“Seoul,” You said in response, “I came from Seoul.”
“There is no such place!” The first guard hissed, “I shall kill you.”
“P- Please,” You stuttered in fear, your eyes wide, “Please don’t hurt me!”
Before anything else could happen, a smooth, deep voice punctured the air, “That’s enough, men. I shall deal with the girl.”
You looked behind the guard to see a tall man, his attire obviously royal-like. He looked down at you with a soft smile.
“Yes, your Majesty,” Both guards responded, going back to their original posts. The princely figure made his way in front of you and gently took your hand, pressing a kiss to it, “Good evening, my lady. I am Prince Namjoon of the Goryeo region, under King Taejo’s rule.”
You blinked, your mind hazy. He looked exactly like the artwork done of Prince Namjoon. Was this some type of fucked up dream? Did you pass out in the forest?
He let go of your hand and slid it up to your shoulder, gently guiding you in front of him into the palace. You decided to play along, still not sure what was going on.
“I am L/N Y/N, your Majesty. I am sorry for intruding on your palace so late at night-”
“No worries, Ms Y/N. You are lost, yes? We will make sure you get home safely. Where are you from?” He coolly responded, smiling as you looked in awe around the palace.
Holy hell, you thought, the detail! They got every little intricate detail down about the palace’s structure and decor.
The gold, the candles and torches, the velvet carpets; they had it all.
“Seoul,” You mumbled, still dazed.
“Seoul? I have never heard of such a place.”
Whipping your head to look at him, your eyebrows furrowed, “It’s the capital city of South Korea.”
“South Korea? Where is that, exactly?” He seemed genuinely confused, his expression similar to yours.
“Here!” You had the urge to yell, however you swallowed that urge and licked your lips nervously, “It is far from here. I wish to not go back, I fled to escape my cruel family. If you allow me temporary hospitality, I will repay you with whatever I can get my hands on upon leaving to support myself on my own.”
“I see,” The prince nodded, seemingly deep in thought, “I will let my family know of your presence. For now, I shall lead you to a room to stay and.. Change,” He glanced down at your outfit, making you bite your tongue from shooting a snarky remark in response, instead looking down with an embarrassed blush on your face with a nod.
* * *
You sat on the large, plush bed and stared at your hands. What was happening? Were you really in the tenth century?
Were you ever going to see your friends and family again?
You sighed and slid your hands down your face, biting your lip. This was all too much to take in. Maybe if you sleep, you’ll wake up tomorrow in the woods. Or better, in the car.
Looking over at the nightgown on the dresser, you nodded, making a mental decision, and stood up to slip into it.
* * *
You never did get any sleep that night.
Now, it was a week later, and you sat in the private garden with the youngest prince, Taehyung, listening as he rambled about brush strokes.
“For outlines of things or thicker areas of colour, you use thicker, more bold strokes. Then, for detail, you use a smaller, thinner brush for lines of the same..”
You never thought the loneliest prince was so outgoing and a conversationalist. He was so fun to be around, by far your favourite of the three, and he was bubbly and cute. He didn’t seem like the type to be a prince, nevermind the prince of Goryeo!
Of all your studies of Goryeo, you never imagined it would be this beautiful and wonderful. The doctrines, recreations, and artwork really did the era no justice.
“Y/N? Are you even listening to me?”
You jumped out of your thoughts to turn your head to Taehyung with a sheepish smile, “No, I’m sorry.”
He sighed and chuckled at you, “Always in your own little world. I’m glad my father allowed you to stay with us. You’re different from other women.”
“Oh?” You mumbled, looking down a bit. He hummed and nodded, “Yeah. You’re more straight-forward and easier to talk to. It’s like you don’t care about gender, that just because I’m a man doesn’t mean we can’t sit and have a conversation. Especially despite my status.”
You bit your tongue from making a remark about how people are equal despite gender and that everyone’s human, that no one shouldn’t be able to not have a conversation with someone else because of their gender or status-
“I like having you around.”
Your head snapped up to look at the prince, who was grinning down at you, “You’re not uptight like my brothers or any others from my family. I feel like I actually have a friend.”
You gave him a soft smile and gently set your hand on his arm, “I’m so glad you think so. I think of you as a friend as well, I’m grateful to have you during this hectic time in my life,” You sighed.
The young man hummed, “What is your story? Namjoon didn’t tell me much.”
Sliding your small hand down his arm to set it back down on the stone bench the two of you were seated on, you sighed. Of course, you couldn’t tell him the truth – or could you?
No, not now. Maybe later on, if you stay long enough. Then again, it’s not like you knew anything about time travel to leave anytime soon anyway.
“I am the daughter of a nobleman. He had lots of riches, but he was cruel. Behind closed doors, he beat my mother and I. So, I took my mother and we ran. My mother died during our journey, but I didn’t stop. I stumbled upon your palace and a guard almost killed me, but Prince Namjoon came along and took me in before I could be killed.”
Taeyhung’s eyes were slightly wide, “I see. How awful… I’m sorry that happened to you.”
You gave him a pained smile, “No worries. What happened, happened; it cannot be undone.”
“That is true. Let’s change the subject, yeah? I’m of my twenty-first year, and you?”
It took you a second to realize that he was asking for your age. But once knowing that he was twenty-one, you also immediately calculated the year you were currently stuck in.
Taejo was born in 877, and founded Goryeo in 918, making him thirty-one years of age when he did so. He had his first son, Seokjin, when he was twenty-eight, and Namjoon when he was thirty. Then he had his youngest, Taehyung, when he was thirty-one. That meant that the current year was 939 CE. You bit your lip upon remembering that Taejo of Goryeo died in 943 at age sixty-six, and Kim Seokjin died in 940 at age twenty-five.
All the more reason not to get attached to anyone of the royal family, or anyone of this time. You were going to have to go home eventually.
“I am of my twentieth year,” You murmured.
* * *
You’ve been in Goryeo for a month now. You smoothed out your dress as you greeted Prince Taehyung at a bridge near the palace.
The youngest prince and yourself had grown very close in your time here. You didn’t like to think about it. Especially now that you were catching feelings for him.
“Y/N!” He called, a large smile on his face as he gently set his hands on your arms, “How are you? I just finished an inscription I’d love for you to read over for me!”
Taeyhung wanted to be an artist and a scribe. You saw that the doctrines and biographies of the prince that you’d read did not lie – this was truly his passion.
“I am well, Taehyung, and I’d love to read over your writing. I’m sure it’s just as amazing and beautiful as the last one I read.”
“You flatter me,” He giggled, taking your hand, “Come, I wish to show you something!”
You laughed as he tugged you along, blushing lightly from the contact.
He lead you to the stables, where he let go of your hand and held the reins of a horse instead. The majestic creature had been saddled and ready to go – he must’ve prepared this.
He grinned at you and you gave him a nervous smile in return. Namjoon had attempted to take you on a horse ride a couple weeks ago, and it did not end well. You had to scrub mud out of your hair for fifteen minutes straight.
Taehyung took you by your waist and lugged you on the horse, making you squeak and hold onto the saddle for dear life. He laughed at your uneasiness and hopped on behind you, taking the reins in his hands and gently willing the horse to begin walking forward.
“You’re cute,” The prince muttered, looking down to give you a cheeky smile.
You blushed lightly and puffed your cheeks, “Did Namjoon tell you what happened last time I was on a horse?”
“Yes,” He answered coolly, “And Namjoon can’t ride a horse to save his life. He’s very clumsy, the last person I’d trust to take me horse riding. Relax, I’ve got you.”
You sighed and nodded, leaning back into Taehyung’s chest and watching the scenery as the two of you rode down a path. The silence was not awkward, but comfortable. You felt the young man set his chin atop your head at a point in the ride, and smiled to yourself.
You were enjoying this too much.
Your smile turned bitter.
* * *
Three weeks later, you found yourself in the royal library, looking in the ancient books for anything that could help you get home.
You were starting to fall in love with this place, and you couldn’t allow yourself to do that. You had a family back home, and it would be wrong to leave them. It would be even more wrong to possibly alter history further than you already have.
Your biggest problem, one that you had to face, was that you’d fallen in love with Prince Taehyung.
While flipping through the pages of the olden literature, you found an old legend; a natural phenomenon that seemed to cause something not-so-natural.
It was said that the sun became too powerful for eyes to bear, causing anyone who looked right at it to go blind or have severe sight problems. It happened once in a blue moon, and once, during this strange occurrence, a woman dissipated into thin air while standing on a bridge. The very bridge you met the prince on a few weeks ago.
It didn’t take you long to figure out what this was; a solar eclipse. A partial solar eclipse.
Instead of the area getting dimmer, which it does in the slightest, the sun seems to become more powerful as staring into it can burn your retina and/or your cornea.
If you remembered correctly, this happened over Goryeo on the seventeenth of September in 939.
That was in two days.
Suddenly, you knew; this was most likely your way home.
* * *
Later that night, you called for Prince Taehyung to join you in your room. You paced back and forth until a soft knock rang out, causing you to take a deep breath before opening the door. There stood the prince in all his glory, his face seeming worried.
“Are you all right?” He asked frantically, looking at your appearance.
“Yes,” You responded, biting your lip, “Come in.”
You closed the door behind him when he walked inside and sighed, facing him, “I’ve been lying.”
“W- What?” He croaked, his eyes wide.
“I am not from a place far away. Well, I am but… I am not from this time, Taehyung. The city of Seoul is not that far from where this palace stands, but it is more than one thousand years in the future.” You explained, searching his eyes for any signs of hostility.
“Are you saying you’re from the future? Y/N, did you hit your head or something? Shall I take you to a doctor?” He moved to hold your hands, still worried.
“No, Taehyung. Here, I- I can prove it,” You pulled away from him to fish out your bag and old clothes from where you stashed them all that time ago under the bed, lying them on top of the mattress.
“That clothing, and that bag. They are not from this time. Have you ever seen anything like them?”
“I-” The prince stammered, shaking his head, “No, but it could be from another country. Not the future.”
You huffed and opened the bag, taking out the contents: more clothing from your time, your bright pink water bottle, your phone, and its charger.
“What are those?” Taehyung asked, leaning over them.
You took your phone and powered it on, causing the man to jump in place as he watched the Apple logo appear on the screen.
“This,” You said, “Is technology. It’s called a phone, specifically an iPhone. That rubber-like chord, there, gives it power. See? Tell me this isn’t futuristic.”
The ancient prince blinked, watching as the device powered on, “I.. cannot give any other explanation. I suppose it would also explain why you suddenly showed up at the palace… I believe you,” He turned his gaze to meet your eyes making you smile.
You set the phone down and gingerly wrapped the man in a hug, which he returned enthusiastically.
“Taehyung,” You mumbled into his chest, “I have to go home soon. I have to leave.”
He let go and held you by your shoulder, pushing you back only slightly, “Soon? H- How soon?”
“Two days,” You mumbled, looking down.
Taehyung’s face crumbled as he stared at you with pained eyes. He took his hands off of you and reached into the pocket of his silk robes, “I.. wanted to give you something. I was saving it for.. A little later on, but now I want our time left together to last.”
You snapped your scrutiny up at him, “What.. What is it?”
He fished something out of his pocket and held a ring between his fingertips, it was covered in emeralds, rubies, and other rare jewels. Your eyes widened as he smiled shyly, “This belonged to my mother. She told me to give it to the one I wished to marry. I want to marry you, Y/N.”
You blinked, attempting to register the situation. Of course, in this time, there wasn’t really courting; it was marriage. Usually arranged marriages, like the one Taehyung was supposed to get later in life.
“I’ve grown to be attached to you… And I want- wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. But now, I want you to accept the ring, not to marry me, but to take it back with you and… Remember me.”
Tears welled in your eyes as you nodded, stepping closer to him once again, “I’ve developed romantic feelings for you as well. I tried to push them away because of course, my departure is inevitable but I just.. Can’t.”
Taehyung stepped closer to you as well, so that your chests were touching, and gently slipped the ring on your finger while searching your eyes with his, “I’ll never forget you, okay? None of us will.”
“I’ll never forget you all either,” You sniffled, tears beginning to fall.
The prince gently shushed you, wiping your tears before cupping your face and planting a soft kiss on your lips.
You were going to miss him. You were going to miss Goryeo.
This was going to be harder than you imagined.
* * *
After looking into the books a bit more, you discovered the exact time and place you had to be to leave for good. And so, at high noon, you changed back into the clothes you arrived in and snuck out of the palace, knowing that anyone who saw you would order you to change immediately.
You let the king know the night before that you would be making your departure. You thanked him for the longer-than-planned hospitality and quickly scurried away, intimidated by the founder of Goryeo.
You asked Taehyung to meet you at the bridge before you had to leave, and as you arrived and saw no sign of him, you sighed. You couldn’t wait; it was now or never.
You stepped in the middle of the bridge and looked at the partial eclipse, the bright sun hurting your eyes. You watched as your fingertips began to disappear and bits of solar light surrounded your body.
This was it.
Suddenly, you heard a loud, deep voice call your name. An all too familiar voice.
Whipping your head in the direction of said voice, your eyes widened upon seeing your love running towards you, tears in his eyes.
“Taehyung,” You mumbled as he hugged you, careful not to knock you out of the spot you had to be in to leave. He sobbed on your shoulder, you would’ve run your hands through his hair, but they, along with your arms, were disappearing.
“I don’t want you to leave. Please… Don’t leave me.”
“I have to,” You cooed, “I’m sorry.”
He released you from his death grip, watching as you dissipated before his very eyes.
“No,” He whimpered, capturing your lips in a needy, passionate kiss.
He let out another sob as he pulled away, watching as your crying figure continued to fade.
“I love you,” The prince whispered, watching you with helpless eyes.
“I love you too,” You gave him a soft smile through the tears.
And then, you were gone.
* * *
It’s been a year since you travelled to the time of the Goryeo Dynasty. You wrote a very successful book titled Through Time, There Was You. You’re currently at a signing event which includes a Q & A session, which is taking place right now.
“Ms L/N! Was there an inspiration for this book?” A woman asks.
You smile brightly and hold the microphone to your lips, “Yes, in fact, there was. A personal experience, followed by the painting done by Kim Taehyung of the Goryeo Dynasty. His most famous piece, of a maiden disappearing while standing on a bridge, surrounded by lights. The one titled ‘Her,’” You play with the jewelled ring on your finger as you wait for the next question, twisting it and running your opposite thumb over the emeralds.
A middle-aged man asks the next question, “You mention the Goryeo Dynasty a lot in Through Time, There Was You. Do you have a connection to it?”
“Ah,” You hum, thinking, “Not directly, no. But I have always been fascinated with it and any of my friends can tell you that I’ve always been a history nerd, especially when it comes to Goryeo. You could even say I went there once,” You grin cheekily.
“Okay,” The manager of the event says loudly, “We have time for one last question. You, young man with the blue jacket in the back.”
Said man makes his way to the front with a microphone in hand. Upon seeing him, you furrow your brows a bit. He looks awfully familiar, if only you could place it…
He has dyed dark brown hair that’s a bit long, like a mullet. Smooth, tan skin, and even lips that curl into a boxy smile. He’s wearing ripped jeans with a silk dress shirt, black Gucci shoes, and a blue Gucci jacket. You’ll hand it to him, he has style.
When his teary eyes meet yours and his voice rings throughout the library, your eyes go wide and you almost drop your own microphone as tears well in your eyes as well.
“Do you believe in reincarnation?”
You bite your lip as the two of you gaze at each other for a few seconds. You know then; it’s Taeyhung.
You then break out into a huge, dumb smile, and bring the microphone back to your lips, “I do now.”
—
