Chapter 2: A Whole New World

"How many times do I have to tell you! That is the correct template!" Jinwoon's manager hit him with a stack of documents. It didn't hurt but it was degrading and the manager knew it. Jinwoon had been working at the sales department for 6 months now. His work was boring and his manager was the worst jerk on the face of the planet. From day one he had picked JInwoon as his personal slave and punching bag. Jinwoon was forced to do stupid jobs like pick up his manager dry cleaning or buy gifts for his wife or mistress. In the 6 months he had been working there he hadn't had one weekend off. His tyrannical manager would call him to do some meaningless work. His friends had told him to quit his job. But Jinwoon couldn't. It had taken him too long to find a new job and even though he didn't get any over-hours, his pay was high.

"Do it over! And this time use the correct template." His manager turned around and went back to his office. Jinwoon stood up and gathered the documents spread out on the floor. He checked each document wondering which template the manager was talking about. He had no idea what he had done wrong. His frown became deeper with each page. Everything was just as it should be. There were no mistakes. He looked towards the manager's office and saw that the blinds of the office were down. "Senior, can you please help me? I don't know which template Mr. Kim wants." The person next to him looked at the papers and saw that everything was good. "Make the font size 12 or bigger. Mr. Kim can't read it well if it is below 12." Jinwoon took a deep breath. 'Why didn't he just say that.' Jinwoon opened the document and made the lettering bigger. He sent it to the copy machine. After collecting the papers he sat back down.

He first finished all the other work before finally bringing the papers to his manager. He stood in front of the manager waiting for his feedback. "Much better. It looks better if you keep to the right templates. I need you to finish this too." He gave Jinwoon a map. "I need it by tomorrow." Jinwoon wanted to smack the manager face with the map but instead he bowed and left the office. He began reading the papers and discovered that the manager has to present an idea by tomorrow. It wasn't that the manager had just gotten this project. The jerk had this project lying on his desks since Jinwoon had started working at the sales department. Thank god, he had finished his other assignments or he would have never been able to have time to make this project. He read the project information again before starting his own research. "Good luck, Jinwoon. See you tomorrow." His senior patted his back before leaving for home. Jinwoon looked at the watch and saw that it was already 7 and the office was empty. Even his good for nothing manager had left.

He wanted to leave too but he knew his manager would kill him or even worse fire him if didn't finish. At 9 he started to write a concept plan. At 11.30 he finally finished writing. He checked one more time to see if there were any mistakes, put lettering at 12. He saved it and mailed it to his manager. He looked at the watch. "11.50!! Finally going home!" He stood up and grabbed his stuff. He wanted to go for a drink, so he messaged some of his old friends to see if anybody was free. Since it was a weekday nobody was willing to join him. He shrugged. 'I'll just get two cans at the convenience store. That counts as drinking too." At midnight the elevator finally arrived. Jinwoon got in and pressed the ground floor. The light flickered twice before everything turned black.

"I told you not to hit him so hard! Is he still alive?" "Yes, he still breathing." Jinwoon had no idea what was going on. All he could feel was pain. "Hgm'' cold water was thrown on him, making him sit up. He found himself lying on the floor. He looked around and saw that he seemed to be in a barn of some sort. There were four men standing around him. His head was pulled back by his hair. He wanted to scream but his mouth was gagged with a rag. "You're finally awake." He looked in at the man holding his hair. "Your a slippery weasel to find." Jinwoon had no idea what was going on. Before he could struggle, he passed out again. The memories that weren't his bombarded his brains.

It was the year 212 of King Songun. Compared to the world he had just come from, the monarchy still existed. The body he was in was called Tae Jinwoon. Like his old self he was an orphan but this Jinwoon was raised by a sweet old lady who cared for him like her own grandson. Sadly she had died of old age when he was 10. The house they were staying in was sold and he was kicked out. He tried to find a job but Tae Jinwoon was not too bright. He kept making mistakes and getting fired. He was now 17 and poorer than a tempel mouse. Desperate and out of ideas, he joined a group of young beggars. Tae Jinwoon compared to the older Jinwoon was a good-looking fellow. He had a silly smile that made women and men find him adorable. His job was to chat up their victims while the others robbed them. The four men in the barn were a group of travelers that Tae Jinwoon had 'help'. They had ganged on him while was going back to the beggars hideout.

He was again woken up by cold water slapping his face. "Stop faking! Where are the others? Where is our money!" Jinwoon shook his head. Even though he wasn't Tae Jinwoon, he couldn't get over himself by betraying those young beggars. These men might kill him but until now they had only been asking where their money was. Jinwoon might be able to flee if he could come up with an escape plan. The body of Tae Jinwoon was slim but his life was spent running and fighting. The hard life had made him sturdy and nibble enough to save himself during fights. Out of patience, one of the men took out a knife. "Tell us or you'll die now." Jinwoon's eyes widened with fear. 'Why!! I had just died! I don't want to die again.' He began to nod furiously. The men finally smiled. The one with the knife took the gage away.

Jinwoon took a few breaths before answering. "Please don't kill me. We are staying at the old mill near the city wall." The men look at each other. Jinwoon's face turned red, while tears were streaming down his face. "I swear! I'm not lying. Please don't kill me." He was lifted up and was ordered to take them to the mill. "Are you going to keep me tied up? Won't that raise questions?" Jinwoon looked at the men still crying his eyes out. The men didn't say anything. "We're strangers here. It would be weird if we were dragging a beggar around." The man with the knife shook his head. "He'll run away." Jinwoon shook his head. "I won't... what if people think you are human traffickers?" The men turned pale. They knew that if they were seen as that they would lose their lives. "You two stay here. We'll go. This is the best way." The other nodded. The man with the knife gave Jinwoon one last look before leaving.

Jinwoon had to think of something quick. The mill was of course not the place he and the others were staying at but they had all agreed that if they were ever caught they would say the old mill. The old mill was actually an illegal gambling nest run by a shady loan shark. Once the men go asking questions they will be taken away and 'questioned' by the owner. It would give them some time to make their escape. That was at least the plan but this was the first time that any of them were caught. It was now up to him and him alone to escape. "Please can I go outside to pee?" Jinwoon gave them Tae Jinwoon's famous pout. He saw sympathy in one of the men's eyes. "Go there." The other man pushed him into a corner. He let out a deep sigh. He was shocked by his performance just now. 'This body should be an actor!'

He now needed a way to get away. He searched Tae Jinwoon's memory to find a solution. He closed his eyes and started to dig through all the memories flashing in his mind. He noticed that they were two kinds of memories. His own memories were still there but they were in the background. Tae Jinwoon's memories were in the front, flashing by over and over again."Aren't you finished?!" He heard footsteps coming his way. "Well… I can't really pee with my hands tied back." The footsteps stopped. "Or do you want to help me?"