The Emperor

You hated school field trips. Especially when they dragged you into the mountains to some ancient temple where everything smelled of dust and incense. Your classmates were busy taking photos for Instagram. The teacher was droning on about the Joseon dynasty. You were bored to the point of yawning.

You slip away from the group and wander into a side hall. It is dark in there, smelling of dampness and old wood. On an altar, buried under a layer of dust, lies a watch. An old one. Copper, with a carved face and hands that... tick.

Strange. There shouldn't be a watch in an old temple.

Your voice echoed in the silence.
You pick it up. The hands tremble. You find it almost funny—something so ancient, yet still ticking. You twist the hands, just to see if they'll break. One. Two. Three.
A ringing fills your ears. Darkness closes in over your eyes.
You collapse onto the stone floor, never even feeling the impact.

This is Korea. But not the one you know. The Joseon era. Emperor Wang Ye, a name the locals utter with both terror and awe, has just announced the recruitment of new palace maids.
You are eighteen. You have no documents, no money, and no past in this world. And the watch that brought you here... is no longer ticking.