Happy 3 years to the best and most misunderstood character in the history of dramas. Thank you Somin and Younjung for bringing Cho Yeong (Naksu, Mudeok, Jin Buyeon) to life, a character so complex and still a source of great discussion. A true legend. ☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆
info: after being away for a year, Park Y/n returns to the chaos that has been happening
pairing: seo yul x mage!fem!reader
fandom: Alchemy of Souls
wc: 1.8k almost
tw: stalking, reader gets attacked
masterlist
"But why do you not want to tell me what happened while I was away?"
Y/n questioned poor Master Lee, who was staring ahead of them, taking a mental note to never bring her with him again(as a joke). She was constantly poking his arm and asking questions, to which he tried answering. Every time he opened his mouth to answer, she interrupted him with another question. He sighed,
"I will only tell you one thing if you shut up for the rest of the walk.".
She nodded, urging him to answer.
"Jang Uk got his gate of energy opened...",
and with that, Y/n opened her mouth to ask him something, but she stopped. Last time she saw Jang Uk, he was at Gisan, but it seems like he got kicked out again, or as he likes to say,'I left because he was a useless master'. She was sad that his father closed his gate of energy, the reason why being unknown to this day. Soon enough, they got to Songrim, multiple people bowing their heads in respect, and telling Y/n that she is still as beautiful as the last time they've seen her.
"Lady Y/n, and Master Lee, you should both come to the Training Center. There will be a duel happening there soon."
A servant bowed his head before leaving.
"Did you also know that?"
Y/n turned to her master. He just nodded,
"Let us go and watch,"
He said before going the same way the servant went. She stood at her spot before running after Master Lee. Y/n got more and more confused as time went by. First off, Uk got his gate of energy opened finally, and second off, there is a duel today? Could this day get any more interesting and confusing, she wondered. As they got closer to the training center, Master Lee stopped her,
"If the leader asks why are you here-"
"I will tell him we'll speak later, since there is a duel about to happen",
she interrupted him. He nodded, motioning for her to go ahead of him. As she entered, she noticed how the mages stood on the sides, not moving a muscle.
The Crown Prince, stood at the top of the stairs, including his servant. They looked taken back, her sudden appearance taking them by surprise. They bowed their heads to each other, as Y/n looked up, the leader spoke up,
"Master Lee, it's great to have you back here again. Park Y/n, did you finish mastering Chisu already, or are you only here to attend the duel?".
Master Lee only smiled while Y/n responded,
"My lord, we should talk about it later. As I know, there is a duel that's about to start. I wouldn't want to interfere or waste time.",
and with that, both Y/n and Master Lee went to find a place to stand at.
Not so long after that, Jang Uk appeared in front of the Training Center just as they were about to close it. A girl was beside him, whom Y/n figured out is his maid. She seemed kind, and Y/n made a mental note to talk to her after the duel. Jang Uk looked in Y/ns way, his eyes widening in shock. She smiled at him politely before making a face that just had what the fuck did you get into, written all over it. He winced before continuing to walk. His maid only bowed her head and smiled at Y/n, which she, of course, returned. Y/n listened carefully as the Crown Prince explained everything.
She gasped when he mentioned that whoever wins this duel, gets Mu-deok as their maid. She knew that Uk will lose since he just got his gate of energy opened recently. Soon enough, the Crown Prince announced the start of the duel, and with that, they charged at each other.
As the duel went on, she heard a mage saying that Uk used his defense spell. That meant that he had mastered all of his previous opponent's spells and is using them against Seo Yul. She frowned her eyebrows when Uk gathered the energy and turned it into water, tossing it in the air and using Tansu. She gasped as Yul was almost knocked down, but in the end, Yul won. With that, Mu-deok got a new master, Y/n noticed that she disappeared with the Crown Prince, probably to discuss what's going to happen.
After everyone congratulated Uk on mastering Chisu, they left the Training Center as if nothing had happened minutes ago. Master Lee left as soon as the duel finished, only saying that he was going to take a small walk. Y/n watched with a smile as Dang-gu hugged Uk, ignoring the complains of the new mage.
"Let the poor man breathe. You should take him to Sejukwon, Dang-gu."
Y/n said before Uk got even more wounded than he already was, which made them look at her, both existed to see her again.
"Ah, we didn't do our group hug. Come here,"
Dang-gu motioned for all of them to hug. It was a tradition for them to have a group hug after being away for a long time. Everyone smiled and went for the group hug, laughing as they remembered how long they were without Y/n.
"You should take Uk to Sejukwon, I'll stay with Y/n."
Yul said to Dang-gu as they pulled away from the hug. He nodded,
"Let us go."
And with that, they were off to Sejukwon.
As they left, Seo Yul offered Y/n his hand,
"Would you fancy a walk around Songrim, my lady?"
as he was smiling at her.
"Of course, my prince."
she blushed.
It was their nicknames that they created a few years ago, when they met. Each time they were alone, they wouldn't say their names, only the nicknames. She placed her hand through his,
"Lead the way, my prince.".
As they walked, she took in the sight of what had changed. There weren't many changes, not that she cared if there were. All that mattered to her was that her friends were safe and healthy.
"I missed this.",
she said as she looked around,
"I missed you."
he blurted out, not realizing what he said.
"I missed you too. How could I not?"
she replied, stopping to look at him.
He looks as handsome as the last time I saw him. It's impossible how a man could look like you do. She thought, admiring his looks, thinking about every time he defended her, or took care of her tiny wounds from training.
She looks even prettier than she did the last time I saw her. All the girls must be jealous of her. God has favorites, and it's you. He couldn't help but think about her. Most of the time, she was in his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about her, worrying about her getting hurt or, worse, attacked. He snapped out of his thought as she wrapped her arms around him. He returned the gesture, placing his cheek on her head, sighing as she smelled like a garden that just bloomed. He could feel her smile against his chest.
"What are you smiling at, my lady? Is it my looks?"
he asked as if he wasn't blushing profusely. She giggled,
"How could I not? You're the most handsome and caring person I have ever met in my life.".
He smiled and pulled away. It was getting darker. They didn't even notice the time they spent together.
They didn't notice that Jang Uk, his maid, and Dang-gu were spying on them, shipping them secretly. The leader of Songrim scared the three of them as he whispered out of nowhere,
"They are so in love.".
They almost screamed as they saw him, turning around to look at him. The leader only shrugged and left without saying another word. They turned around and saw that their ship had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Seo Yul and Park Y/n parted their ways, bidding each other a goodbye. He insisted on going with her until she got to her room, but she said he doesn't need to.
"I'll be safe, you don't have to worry, good night, Yul.".
He nodded and left, or so she thought.
As she continued her way to her room, she felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of her head. She turned around, gripping her sword that made her feel only a tad bit less nervous.But there was no one there, she felt as if her instincts were playing with her due to her tiredness, but she always trusts her instincts. She sighed before turning back, continuing her way. Only five more minutes ran through her head. Just as she turned around the block, a sword almost went through her. She screamed, forming a small circle in front of her, to try defending. She used her powers to push the attacker away from her, making him fly back as the surge of energy hit him. She unsheated her sword, a black energy flowing through it, activating the energy that was in the sword. She gasped as another person stepped in front of her.
"Yul?", she asked.
He looked at her before attacking the person, who seemed to be a soul shifter. This wasn't a normal, weak soul shifter. It was a stronger one. She noticed that Yul was struggling, so she stepped in. Quick attacks were thrown at the soul shifter. He was struggling to defend against her spells. She was known for her fast swordmanship skills, flicking the sword as if it weighed less than a feather. After slashing his arm and waist a couple tume, he began to start petrifying, and that made her straighten up and create energy in her hand before appling it to the sword, twisting it in the air before jumping. The soul shifter was aware of what was about to happen, so he prepared to attack her. As he was about to stab the sword in her stomach, a spell hit hit, taking him to the floor, just as Y/n pierced the sword through him, petrifying him. She looked back, and Yul started to approach her. He bringed her in a tight hug,
"You scared me to death. Thankfully, I was following you."
he said in her hair. She saw Park Jin and other mages approach them in a hurry. He pulled away from her before patting her head.
"You did an awesome job, my lady.", he praised her.
She blushed and thanked him.
this was originally my first ever post on tumblr. After i finished this kdrama, I decided to edit it and publish it again as i restarted my journey here. :)
re-edited on January 24th 2024, re-published on June 6, 2025
