Your Medieval Prince’s Modern Mishaps

Dr. Kim walks into my room with a warm smile and a folder tucked under his arm. "Mrs. Valenhart, your tests are excellent. You can be discharged this afternoon," he announces.

"A nurse will come by soon to remove your IV catheter and give you your final dose of medications, along with my prescription, to ensure your fever doesn't return."

Relief swells in my chest at his words. "Thank you, Doctor," I murmur. He nodded, his kind eyes lingering momentarily before he stepped out, the door clicking shut behind him.

I grabbed my phone immediately and called my parents, who were in an airport lounge in Europe. The phone rings only twice before Mom picks up, sounding half-anxious and half-relieved.

[Sena! Dr. Kim said you'd be discharged today. Are you sure you're feeling alright?]

"I'm perfectly fine, Mom," I say, smiling. "Can you ask someone to pick up the extra things Dad's assistant dropped off? And if any modeling agencies call about Luke, just decline them. I'm not ready for that. You were seen with Luke before, so they might contact you, and I can't deal with that stress."

Dad chuckles in the background and Mom teases.

[You're already building walls around that foreign prince, aren't you? You're not even officially married yet!]

My cheeks warm at the accusation. "Maybe a little. Anyway, love you both. I'll update you soon."

A few minutes later, a nurse arrived to remove the thin IV catheter from my arm, neatly bandaging the spot. She hands me a small bag of my last medicines, plus Dr. Kim's prescription.

"Please, don't miss any doses, Mrs. Valenhart," she instructs. I thank her, and as she leaves, I see Luke meticulously folding and organizing the clothes and gifts my dad's assistant brought.

"Sena, let me handle these," he offers.

"I'm fine, Luke. I can do it," I protest, but his earnest look disarms me. "Alright, but make sure it's all perfect for the driver," I add with a playful grin.

He nods with a soft smile, returning to his task. I slip into the small hospital bathroom for my last shower here. Hot water cascades over me, rinsing away the antiseptic smell, steam fogging the mirror as I imagine life beyond this room.

Outside, I hear Luke carefully rearranging my belongings, each soft rustle telling me he's still adapting, yet throwing himself wholeheartedly into helping me.

When I emerge, my hair is damp, and my skin feels refreshed. I've changed into denim shorts and a plain black long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned slightly lower than usual. Luke, done with his neat stacking, double-checks my suitcase latch near the window. He turns around, and his eyes widen at my outfit.

"S-Sena," he murmured, cheeks tinting pink, "that… that's very revealing."

A/n: Luke's reaction to Sena's "non-medieval-revealing-outfit" LOL (pic not mine, just for your reference)

I raise an eyebrow. "Says the man who once strutted around in my grandma's dress. We're in the 21st century, Luke—shorts and bikinis are normal. Trust me, you'll survive."

He facepalms, half-flustered. "You're impossible," he mutters, then notices me toweling my hair. Gently taking the towel, he guides me to the chair beside the bed. 

"I… don't want anyone else seeing your skin. I'd rather be the only one." Looking at him, he's cute while pouting.

I giggle, finding his old-fashioned possessiveness oddly sweet. "You're from the Middle Ages—ankles alone must've been a scandal in Valenhart."

Luke nods sheepishly, patting my hair dry with surprising care. As I glance around, I see how spotless the room now is—folded clothes, no trash anywhere, everything neat. I chuckle softly.

"Luke, you're like a house husband. I never pictured a sword-wielding prince to be so… domestic."

He blushes. "I just want to help. When we go on subjugation missions back in Valenhart, I usually handle things on my own."

"Subjugation missions, huh?" I tease, imagining him slaying monsters. "Well, you're doing a great job here."

Suddenly, Luke picked up a new phone lying in my suitcase. It's the phone Myeong arranged for him—so he wouldn't keep borrowing mine. He frowns as he unlocks it, tapping randomly at the icons. "What's this app called 'StreamGram'? And… 'Live'? Is it telling me to keep living?"

I blink. "Uh, no—that's a live stream feature. It means you can broadcast yourself to other users… Wait, did you tap it?"

He nods, wide-eyed. "I saw you use it once, so I… pressed something. It says 'Going Live.' Is that an instruction? Like… urging me to live on?"

Horrified, I grab the phone, seeing the flashing red icon. "Luke, you're literally on a live stream right now!"

My eyes dart to the screen—comments buzzing in real-time. People are already reacting to seeing "that handsome foreigner from the hospital photos." Flustered, I immediately hit the off button, ending the stream.

Luke looks mortified. "S-Sena, I… I didn't know—"

I let out a breath, half-laughing, half-exasperated. "It's fine. Let's just hope not too many people saw you."

Face flaming, he sets the phone aside as though it's a ticking bomb. "I… I'll be more careful."

I can't help smiling at his embarrassment. "Okay, no more random taps on suspicious buttons, Prince Valenhart."

Still pink from the ordeal, Luke notices my partly wet hair. "Sena, can you show me how to use that blow dryer? I saw you with it once, but I never asked."

I grin, switching it on with a loud whir that makes him jump. Slowly, he adjusts to the noise and carefully blow-dries my hair, brow furrowed in concentration.

Once satisfied, he flicks it off and sets it aside. Then, he picks up the baseball cap Myeong brought along with my clothes and places it on my head.

"I can't fully cover you," he murmured, adjusting the cap over my hair, "but at least fewer people will flirt with you if they don't see all your face."

I let out a fond laugh. "You're weirdly possessive, you know that?" But I notice a faint frown line on his forehead at the idea of someone flirting with me, so I reach up and massage it away.

"Relax. Even before you appeared in my life, I wasn't into dating. I'm not going to fall for some random stranger-" I wasn't able to finish my sentence when Luke's face turned red.

"D-Does that m-mean y-you have already... U-Umm fallen f-for me?" In shock and late realization, I turned away my gaze from him and grabbed my phone.

I hesitated to respond and, instead, answered with my shoulder saying that I was still unsure about that.

He exhales in relief, and I use the moment to send a quick message to my parents to confirm someone will pick up my belongings. Mom replies instantly, teasing,

[We're fine with a grandchild before marriage!] and I roll my eyes, muttering,

[Mom, really—what's with your obsession?]

Luke blinks in curiosity, but I wave him off. "Just my mom being my mom," I say under my breath.

We gather some of our things, stepping out of my hospital room at last, and I can't help a tiny rush of excitement. Dark clouds cluster outside the windows, and soon, rain pelts down, heavy enough to soak the pavement.

Before we head out, I remember one more thing I want to do. "Luke, let's drop by the pediatric ward. I want to see the kids again and to the yoga hall. You have to bid goodbye to the ajummas."

He brightens. "I'd like that."

We head into the pediatric wing's cheerful corridor, cartoon murals and balloon decorations bringing life to the sterile walls. A nurse waves. "Welcome back! The kids adored your 'prince' last time."

Luke reddens slightly and offers a small bow. A boy with a cast giggles, pointing, "You talk funny—like a storybook!"

A little girl rummages through a toy box, brandishing a plastic tiara. "You're a prince, so wear this!" she declares.

Luke hesitates, cheeks flaming, but sets it on his head. The children erupt in claps and cheers. I stifle a laugh. "Luke, you're famous again," I whisper.

He blinks. "Famous? Does that mean I bring honor to our house?"

"Honor or a headache. One of the two." I tease, smiling at his wide-eyed innocence.

Right then, Dr. Kim peeks around a corner, amused. "Mrs. Valenhart, your discharge papers are ready. I won't rush you if the kids need more stories, though."

Luke recounts a brief but animated saga of battling a baby dragon, enthralling the children. Once they applaud, we wave goodbye and head down the corridor to the yoga hall. The instructor greets Luke warmly but says the elderly aren't around at the moment, so Luke simply bows in thanks and promises to visit again someday.

On our way out, we pass a large window revealing rows of newborns sleeping in bassinets. Luke presses his palm to the glass, eyes soft.

"They're so small… so precious," he amusingly whispered while showing his reaction to how much he seemed to like these little cuties.

I nod. "Puts a lot into perspective, doesn't it?"

Suddenly, a voice calls, "Director Park?!" I turn to see Jin-ah—an analyst colleague—holding a get-well balloon. She spots Luke in his tiara, glances at the newborns, and then at me.

"Wait—are you… Is that your baby?!" she blurts.

My face heats. "No! This is Luke... U-Uhmm, my husband. I was in the hospital for tests, remember?"

Luke attempts a formal bow, nearly knocking into a wall. "I'm Luke Valenhart, Sena Park Valenhart's… husband," he says, shooting me a quick, uncertain smile.

Jin-ah's jaw drops. "You're the foreign prince from all those photos?! We thought it was a hoax! A real prince in a floral dress?!"

Luke shrugs, nonchalantly. "I don't mind if people talk." Then, with a gentle gesture, he removed the tiara from his head and placed it on mine.

"W-What are you doing?" I stammer, cheeks aflame.

His gaze is calm and warm. As he held my hand, he bowed and kissed the back of it. "You've been my only princess since the day we met. I don't care what others think."

Overwhelmed by his frankness, I whisper, "You really say the most outrageous things," then quickly tug him away before Jin-ah can explode from excitement.

At last, we arrive at the billing station. The clerk beams. "Mrs. Valenhart, you're all set. Just need you to settle your bill."

I pull out my wallet, but Luke steps forward with a folded parchment, a wax seal glinting.

"Here," he declares. "The Commissioner of Finance in Valenhart will pay for my wife's care."

The clerk blinks, then glances at me pleadingly. I sigh gently, taking the parchment from Luke. "He's from a kingdom with… different finance policies. Let me pay with my card, okay?"

Luke frowns, disappointment flickering across his face. "But this decree is official in Valenhart…"

I pat his arm soothingly. "Different places, Luke. We'll figure it out later. Let me handle this now."

He nods reluctantly, and I swipe my card. The clerk hands me the receipt with a grin. "Have a wonderful day—and I love the tiara, Mrs. Valenhart!"

Blushing, I thank her, and we step out into the lobby. Rain drums hard against the windows, so I dash to a small shop near the hospital entrance to buy a sleek automatic umbrella.

We queue for a taxi, huddling beneath the new umbrella. Inside the cab, Luke tries to fold it by pressing the tip, but the mechanism refuses, sending droplets scattering across the seats.

"Hey! Close that thing!" the driver snaps.

I burst into laughter as I press the button on the handle, and it snaps shut with a tidy click. The driver grumbles all the way, but eventually, we pay the fare and get dropped off near Insadong. While Luke looked dejected and embarrassed by the umbrella fiasco.

Rather than calling I-seo, I shoot her a text: Exploring Insadong first.

She replies with supportive emojis, so Luke and I head into a lively district of cobblestone alleys, traditional teahouses, antique stalls, and neon-lit dessert cafés.

"Ready for modern Korea?" I tease, dodging puddles.

He smirks wryly. "I survived your grandma's dress, going viral at the hospital, a phone app telling me to 'Live,' and a rogue umbrella. I think I can handle Insadong."

We wander along, the sky still spitting rain. Luke stops at a hanbok rental stall, touching the embroidered fabric. "In Valeraine, we only have cloaks and tunics," he muses, eyes wide.

A vendor beams at him. "You'd look wonderful in a hanbok, sir!"

Luke gives me a half-hopeful, half-nervous look. I laugh and tug him away. "Some other day, maybe. Let's keep moving."

The rain eases to a drizzle as we delve deeper into Insadong's charm. Luke's mood grows pensive. "Sena… in my kingdom, marriage involves dowries, formal ceremonies, and royal edicts. Here, do you just sign a certificate? Will they accept a foreign prince?"

I pause under a shop awning. "My parents can handle the paperwork. But are you sure you want to marry me, not just because my mom hinted at it? And… there's really no one waiting for you back in Valeraine?"

He squeezes my hand gently. "I promise there's no one else. I choose you, Sena—just you and only you."

Warmth blooms in my chest. "One step at a time," I say quietly, though the possibility of cosmic-level complications still nags at me. Noticing my worried expression, Luke gently pokes my forehead.

"Sena, you're frowning again." His concerned face in front of me is something that whoever sees it can't resist. Am I really falling for him?

I give a half-laugh, half-sigh. "I'm scared of losing you. Or being forced apart somehow."

He drapes an arm over my shoulder, guiding me onto a bustling street. "We'll handle it. Let's just enjoy now."

I manage a small smile. The day's chaos—hospital drama, medieval finance, a playful tiara, and an umbrella fiasco—has me reeling, but Luke's unwavering devotion buoys me.

A moment later, my stomach growls loudly, and I freeze in embarrassment. Luke raises an eyebrow. "Skipped breakfast—and lunch, I assume?"

Sheepish, I nod. "I got caught up in everything."

He chuckles. "Come on, I can't have my princess fainting. Let's find you food."

We follow the mouthwatering aroma of roasted chestnuts and sweet hotteok, sharing bites as we laugh and navigate the lively alleys. For now, I let the future rest—this moment, with Luke by my side, is more than enough.