Déjà Vu | Lee Donghyuck

2.17

Yeona walked into the museum that she had gone before on the field trip. The same museum where her and Donghyuck grew closer.
She clutched the notebook and pen in her hand as she walked towards the exhibition.

Queen Yeona, she read.
Her eyes looked down at the multiple display cases, one in particular that caught her eye. Yeona looked closer at it, seeing an arrangement of hand-written letters spread out.

She quietly read them to herself, furrowing her brows as she tried to understand what was going on within the cursive writing.
"...I love you," she whispered. Her eyes widened and that's when she realized; these letters were love letters.

Yeona quickly looked at the bottom of the page, reading the last three words.

From, Lee Donghyuck.

Donghyuck? She thought and looked up at the typed words on the board. "But didn't it say that she was in love with a prince named Haechan?"

"It does."

Yeona jumped in surprise and looked at the elderly man to her right that appeared out of nowhere.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry young lady, I didn't mean to frighten you." His gaze shifted to the display case. "You are right though, Queen Yeona was in love with a prince named Haechan. Lee Donghyuck," he pointed at the signed letters. "Is his birth name."

Yeona opened her notebook. "You seem to know a lot about the pair... Do you mind telling me a few things?"

The man raised a brow in amusement and lightly laughed. "A school project I assume? Well, it doesn't hurt to tell the Queen's story. It has been awhile after all." He paused and sighed. "It's tragic, really."

"Park Yeona, born as a princess in a royal family that was loved by the entire kingdom. She was greatly loved by her people; she was caring, sweet, beautiful. And the young prince, Lee Haechan, saw that.

However, Haechan's parents were envious of Yeona's parents. Because her parents were loved by many, their kingdom was one of the strongest. This envy eventually grew into hate, keeping the two families and children apart for many years..."

The man paused. "Up until her 18th birthday. Prince Haechan's family was invited and that's where the two met again and fell in love." He looked down at the display case. "They sent each other love letters, telling the other that they would be together. Of course, this did not end up happening.

The forbidden lovers were dragged apart by Haechan's parents. They forced the prince to marry someone else, leaving the princess alone and broken hearted to become a spouseless queen. As stated in this exhibition: eventually her broken heart was too much to bare, and thus committed suicide."

Yeona stood in silence as the man finished the story; she was shocked, nonetheless. Her heart ached for the Queen's heartwrenching story, finishing up the last of her notes in her notebook.

"Thank you, for that," Yeona said. "It really helped a lot."

"Oh of course, of course," the older man chuckled. His eyes slightly widened. "Say, you look like the queen herself."

"Huh?"

"Queen Yeona, you look almost exactly like her." He pointed to a picture of the old queen and then pointed to Yeona. "Wow, you're like a reincarnation of her. Perhaps you were the queen in your past life?"

Yeona stifled a laugh. "I don't mean to be rude, but that sounds absurd."

"Have you had any strange visions or feelings before?"

The girl's laughter faded away as she realized the old man was right. She recalled her visions of castle walls and ball gowns, the bubbling sensation of something burning her throat... Donghyuck appearing in her visions as well.

She slowly looked bacm at the letters within the glass case.

From, Lee Donghyuck.

Donghyuck... It can't be, can it?

Yeona looked at the man and smiled. "Nope, no visions at all."

"Ah, what a shame. I really thought that maybe you were her. Well, have a good day ma'am."

"As to you...?"

"Huang."

"Huh?"

The elderly man smiled. "Call me Mr. Huang."