The Duke and the Girl from Nowhere

The moment Yuna stopped running, she regretted it.

Her chest heaved, her legs burned, and her once-white sneakers were now decorated in full mud-splatter fashion. She looked around, clutching her side. "Okay... no signal, no streetlights, and apparently sword cosplay is trending around here."

She'd escaped into what looked like an abandoned garden behind a large estate. Twisting vines, glass panes coated in dust, and ivy-covered pillars. A greenhouse — forgotten, wild, and quiet.

She slid inside through a creaky door and let her back fall against the wall, exhaling hard.

"Okay, Yuna. Think. Either you had a caffeine overdose and passed out in class... or you just got Isekai'd without a single warning label."

She paused.

"Oh god... I really should've finished that last Bridgerton episode."

⸻

Meanwhile, in a study lined with velvet books and candlelight, Duke Ryu Ji-Hwan sat alone.

He hadn't spoken since returning to his estate. His guards had reported no trace of the strange girl. Not even footprints.

Yet he could still hear her voice — sharp, fearless, absurd.

"Calm the hell down, Zorro."

He had no idea what Zorro meant, but the tone had cut through him like a sword.

No fear. No deference. Just... fire.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed.

He hadn't been this intrigued — or rattled — in years.

⸻

Yuna paced the greenhouse floor, muttering under her breath.

"I should've stayed in bed. I should've gone to class. I should've never touched that mirror!" She kicked a pebble, which promptly smacked into a pot, which promptly shattered.

"Great," she winced.

And then — voices. Footsteps.

She dropped into a crouch behind a wooden crate.

"No one is to disturb the gardens. The Duke ordered it. Understood?"

She peeked up — two guards with torches, walking past just outside.

Duke?

Wait.

Tall guy. Cloak. Sword. Jawline that could cut glass.

That guy was a Duke?

"No freaking way," she whispered. "You mean I screamed at royalty? God, my mom would pass out."

⸻

At that exact moment, Ji-Hwan was standing at the window above, staring into the darkness. The greenhouse sat in the far corner of his estate. No one used it anymore.

But something pulled his gaze there. A flicker of movement. A shadow of possibility.

He turned abruptly and left the room.

⸻

Back inside, Yuna was trying — and failing — to find a way out.

The back door was stuck, and the windows were too high to climb through. She cursed under her breath.

And then — the door creaked.

She spun.

He was there.

Ji-Hwan. Backlit by torchlight. His coat still slightly damp from earlier. His eyes locked on hers, unreadable.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable," he said calmly.

Yuna straightened. "Okay, hold up. Before you go all angry-duke again, I swear I'm not dangerous. I'm just—"

"You appear in my forest. You speak as no woman speaks. You vanish like mist. And now you hide in my greenhouse."

"I wasn't hiding," she said. "I was... surviving."

He stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kim Yuna. From Seoul. From 2025. Which, judging by your everything, doesn't even exist yet."

His eyes narrowed. "You speak in riddles."

"I'm literally trying my best here!" she snapped.

There was a pause. The rain began to tap against the glass again.

Ji-Hwan studied her — the way she trembled slightly, but held her ground. The way her clothes clung awkwardly to her skin. Her hair was wild. Her expression, fierce.

"I could have you arrested," he said quietly.

"I could sue you," she shot back, before realizing how useless that sounded here.

His mouth twitched — not quite a smile, but dangerously close.

"You will come with me," he said, stepping aside from the doorway.

"And if I say no?"

"You won't," he replied, "because it's cold, it's raining, and this isn't your world."

Yuna stared at him.

He wasn't wrong.

"Fine," she muttered. "But I'm not wearing a corset."

His brow furrowed. "A what?"

She waved it off. "Never mind."

⸻

End of Chapter 2

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