A/N:

Warning: scenes that could be uncomfortable for some(cat-calling and implied sexualizing)

*sighs* I guess all the flashback(past) chaps might require warnings. Do you want me to always put warnings, comment here and tell me or I won't do it. As I said, many chaps of flashback contain stuff that might require warnings, so you're expecting that, so do I need to put warnings again? I'll def put tw for scenes depicting death tho. There's no necessary need for other types of warning bcos I'm telling you here, those chaps will portray society back in the past where many social maladies obviously existed.

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The Wise Monkey's POV:

Soooo... It's a fine day. I'm not doing much because my client(s) are not doing much. So, a trip to the past life?

Okay, let's do the flashback!

I'm summoning the old me. He's taking charge in...

3...

2...

And 1...

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The chill autumn breeze flowed through the sides of her graceful figure, swaying the loose strands of her bound hair, and the thin, sheer fabric of her attire fitting a maid of the royals, the textile adhering to her delicate, milky skin, making the desires of the lust of the ogling upperclassmen deepen. It was about time the royals declared the commencement of autumn-suiting, hence appropriate uniforms for the servants. The young woman, Soojin, the pride of the town renown in the whole of the province, bravery and exceptional beauty that would spare no one from the enchantment: in her maidly attire that only ever accentuated her sculpture more, for the contrast was such that anyone would think it's a blessed royal disguised as a commoner, she shivered in the duel with the breeze, her hands ever so delicately running up and down her sides, her naturally pigmented soft lips parting as she softly exhaled.

The beauty Goddess of the town, as per the words of the local men: she was the one who once saved the town and the humanity, she was awarded and celebrated, it was later that her beauty spread more and like an ambitious wildfire all over. 'The heroic girl who saved everyone, oh but she also has the beauty of the Gods.' And in terms of the latter, she had grown even more blessed as she blossomed to the modest, matured young woman she was now.

The ogling men were stood together near the grandiose water fountain of the palace's premises. All men of high status but most that couldn't ever keep up with the social conduct around a beautiful lady, especially Soojin, perhaps only Soojin. Such was her power. Oh, but it wasn't ever a boon for her. They were running their malicious eyes up and down on her form, studying details on parts of her that had long crossed the rules of what was appropriate. Soojin was accustomed to the lascivious gazes and advances and words of these upperclassmen who carried such superior levels of arrogance over the commoners that they knew the latter could never dare question.

Ignoring the men, Soojin walked past them, feeling their gaze intensifying and one of them as he dared to smell the air around her just as she was on par with them. "Ahh, what mystifying scent! Goddess indeed!" the man said.

"Yet, a slave girl. Are the slaves allowed to wear perfumes?" other, eldest prince Kim of the neighbouring province, as Soojin identified from the voice, said. "But I'm very generous. My bedroom has collections of scents, perhaps it would entertain you, great Ms Soojin. Come by any dark hour of the night."

Soojin ignored them and walked ahead undeterred.

"You know very well the difference between a slave and a maid, brother," younger prince Kim said, the only one among the group who Soojin was sure, could never in a million years be someone who misconducted and disrespected women regardless of their status, much unlike his elder brother was. He was a true royal. One of the few men of influence and repute that Soojin knew never looked at her either in perversion or with disregard. Her eyes were what he would ever look at when he smiled at her at moments where they'd pass by in the halls of the palace.

"And I do not think the prince would appreciate your conduct towards his workers," prince Kim Hongjoong continued. "He is just a few feet away from us." The group of men looked at the handsome prince of this province as he slowly advanced towards them from the opposite side.

His eyes lingered on the maid that the group was just leering at, a smile breaking into his face on locking eyes with the woman who had a similar response when she passed by him.

"Even the solemn model prince cannot resist her," the elder prince Kim smirked. "And look at that wench. So it's him that she's aiming, all the inaccessibility she carried all these years was a pretence, I see."

And if Kim Hongjoong knew even something about his usurper of a brother, he knew that the man was planning something malicious.

Soojin hastily went around to reach the backside lawn associated closely with the servants' quarters. The maids and servants, after the hours of work, would gather up a lot there. As she walked, she saw a group of women gathered around a tree. Driven by curiosity, she walked closer to hear the voice of her brother's best friend that she was very accustomed to hearing growing up as well as within the palace. The man had a charming aura around him that maidens in the palace loved, and his endless talks would trap the listener into staying always. He loved living an active life.

"—yes, yes, of course. It has anti-ageing properties. And more." Soojin heard the man sitting amongst the centre of the crowd of palace maids talking. She joined the crowd to listen and have a peek into what was happening. No one noticed her as they were so engrossed in the metal case of multiple herbs he was showing off, and the handsome man himself. And as for him, he couldn't notice his friend's sister, Soojin was facing his back, to his ill-luck, and there was the difficulty of the crowd.

"But what good is that? We won't need anti-ageing herbs, Scholar Song," a young girl moue.

"Of course, you are all very young and pretty," the man answered and that particular girl squealed at the compliment. "See this right here," he pointed at another bottle of herb. "This detoxes your skin. Very good in keeping your skin healthy."

"Ah, but these are for the royals, we can't even afford it. Scholar Song, you're so good at this, you'd have made the perfect beauty herb entrepreneur. Every girl would want to buy from you."

"What are you saying?" another girl scolds her. "He is a learned man, he should not be doing jobs like that. Of course, he is good at it because he is good at everything."

"Of course." "Of course." A dozen of agreements filled the air.

The man laughed amusedly. "You ladies are too kind," he said.

"It is the truth. Now, now, leave this and tell us more of your adventurous tales, Scholar Song. Anything exciting that happened this week?" 

"Oh, would you want to know?" he leaned in and asked quietly, building up suspense. The women all eagerly nodded. He was going to start but then, as he turned his head, he saw Soojin leaving the crowd. She was never the one who stayed for his stories, for she knew that half of them were always cooked-up tales of his glory that he very much loved to share.

"Actually," he went as he hastily packed up the herbs and got up. "It is not even that great. Nothing particular happened this week. Maybe next time, ladies." And he ran after Soojin as the jealous maids scowled at the sight. Men were perversive and women were envious: that was why Soojin was always alone in the palace. The only ones she'd talk to in the palace were her brother, the prince, sometimes the prince's friend and also this very man following her: Song Mingi, the friend of her brother.

"Soojin-ah, wait," Mingi said. When he caught up, the both of them walked to occupy a part of the estate that the other maids wouldn't spy from their very spot from earlier.

"Why are you carrying herbs today? That is a very unlikely job for you," Soojin asked.

Song Mingi, a man educated in medicine aspiring to become a physician, worked at the palace library. He had been in the middle of working as a subordinate to a doctor in town, the completion of the term of which would give him a license to practise himself. But when his mother fell ill and he needed more money, he temporarily quit it and turned to the palace that paid higher for any jobs, it was a palace, of course. Unfortunately, the royal physician didn't need extra staff and Mingi, as a highly literate man who was fit for working the functions of a library, was assigned that job instead.

"You know I sometimes help the royal physician when no one else is around," Mingi said. "Today, he requested to purchase some herbs."

"But you were openly showing them around to the maids, that wouldn't be—" Soojin stopped and looked at him. "Those herbs were already rejected by the royal physician, was it not?"

"Yes."

Soojin smiled wide. And so did Mingi, he showed her the brightest smile he could muster up.

"You should smile more often, Soojin-ah," he softly said, his smile replacing a solemn, gentle look of longing. 

Soojin's breath hitched. Eyes averting from his, she gravely said. "Stop saying things like that."

"What? Did I say anything wrong?" Mingi chuckled, finding Soojin amusing.

"Would you prefer if I tell my brother?"

Soojin's brother was the only direct existing family she had. Her brother of the same age but not a twin. After all, the relationship wasn't as 'direct'. There was no bond of the kindred. She had been the adopted daughter of the family. But it was safe to say that the legal siblings' bond and love for each other beat that of any others who were blessed to be kins.

"I'm not scared of him. The most he can do is be loud about it," he laughed.

"Okay, then I'm telling him."

"What? No! Please don—" he cleared his throat and continued, now composedly. "What I mean to say is, there is no need for that. He is a friend very dear to me, I do not want him to disapprove of me this soon, in case he does. I'll ease him into the idea, I think he trusts me enough to see me courting you someday. But before worrying about all that, we should focus on ourselves first." He gently took Soojin's hands in his with a small smile.

"Mingi, what are you doing!" Soojin flusteredly pulled her hands back. She didn't want to come across as harsh. "I told you not to pursue your romantic advances on me."

"I'm sorry. I just cannot help it. I have loved you for so long now. I know that you are scared of men, but I told you this already, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and you are that in more than one way, I do not just see your beauty as those perverts do, I have seen you more before they all have, I have known you since childhood. So I'm requesting you, give me a chance when you will be ready to look for a suitable man for you. Just remember that I am always available for you. That is all. My intention is and never will be to force you. But my flirtatiousness is something I cannot control much, I apologize for that." He laughed.

"You are a nice man, Mingi," Soojin said. "But..." she stopped. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she would never feel for him that way, that would be too harsh. Just like the time when he first confessed his interest in courting her. If only she would just give him a firm answer.

"But?" Mingi asked worriedly.

"Uh... Nothing. I have to go," she stood up and ran away.

And Mingi took the gesture as a sign of her expression of shyness, all the coy maiden's attempt at love games. And so he smiled to himself, watering the dreams of having Soojin as his lover and wife someday.

If only she could give him a firm answer.

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Ummmm... Okay! I'm back.

Wooh! That was exhausting. Like I told you, these leave me very tired. It requires heavy concentration. You know this but my job's not easy.

So... This is what I meant when I said that the boys and Soojin shared their last life together. And even though I wasn't educated on why they're all sharing the present together(because that is really not my job), I kinda have the idea why. And I hope by the time I finish with this, you'll also figure it out. Well, if don't you don't, I'm not gonna be spoon-feeding you everything. Use your human brains for that.

Anyway. I don't think I'm supposed to give you the exact year of the past life, well I'm not even sure if I can share the past in the first place( I don't see those lads up there issuing any notices against it, do I?)

But just to help make it clearer for you, I'll say this. It was a time when the people started moving about more on earth, lessening the gap and enlightening each other of different cultures of humans. In your language, you probably call it colonisation or invasion or whatever(I'm not a fan of human governance, to be honest, there's enough and more complex of those at where I'm from). Let's just say, where Soojin lived, they didn't follow the native royal monarchy at the moment just the princely titles and repute if not full power still followed.

That is all you're getting for now.

A/N:

I loved writing this chap, cos it's easy to write past scenes bcos the narration in it is my preferred writing style of comfort. It's hard to write the regular personalized narration of Wise Monkey:(