Namjoon looked at Hana who was listening to the tour guide attentively. She was wearing a hanbok that she rented at a shop near Gyeongbokgung Palace. She planned to do touristy things, so here she was, wearing top to toe traditional Korean clothes. She even braided her hair for the trip. She said by doing that, she's keeping in touch with her Korean heritage as the only hanbok she had was the one her parents bought for her years ago on their trip to Korea.

She chose a pastel green top that went with a pastel pink skirt that belonged to the high-priced rack at the shop. She was definitely choosing the best. Namjoon wasn't sure if the spending was due to her post-break-up stress or if she was usually like that. She even coaxed Namjoon to rent a hanbok for the trip which Namjoon turned down graciously. He's fine with accompanying her there, but free entry or not - he's not wearing a Hanbok before Chuseok arrives.

Hana was a curious person. From what Namjoon could gather, she loves history and asked a lot about the old customs at the palace – she asked about the design of the throne, how the day-to-day life of the king during Joseon era down to the assassination of Empress Myeongseong at one of the pavilions there.

"Am I boring you yet with this?" asked Hana as the tour ended.

"I'm holding out fine. Don't worry. I consider this as my brush up session for Korean history," said Namjoon.

"You guys sure got a lot of history going on here. Imagine how the royals at that time would react if they know the palace grounds would be opened for us commoners as a tourist spot. They would surely freak out," marvelled Hana. "Tell me what you think when you see this whole building complex."

"It depends," replied Namjoon.

"On what?"

"The timeline. If you're talking about right now, I see a reminder of what is to become if you're not careful. If I was transported back in time, I'd say power."

"That's true. You can't have people building this complex for you if you don't have the power nor the leadership to rule a country," Hana nodded.

"How about you? What do you see when you walk around here?"

"Blood and tears."

Namjoon looked at her curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Okay, blood sounds scary but that's the truth. To be able to amass power to become a ruler at that time period, blood was shed. Sacrifices had to be made, you get the gist."

"You can't be a ruler or a leader without losing something along the way," commented Namjoon.

"Good thing we're not living in that time period. A leader can be one without killing someone – unless you're in a mafia or something – but I heard they're becoming civilised. Or so I hope."

"You would still lose or miss out on something in this time period," repeated Namjoon.

"There's always a price to be a leader. Either people will like you or hate you for it, but that's the way it is. Achieving your dreams, and being a leader, there's something that you have to let go of in your journey. Even if you become a subordinate or a person who lay low and follow orders, you would have to give up something."

"Like time."

"Like time," Hana agreed. "If you lost it, you can't get it back."

"What's your age again? I'm sure we're the same age but you talk like you're 50."

"You don't sound like a normal kid either."

"We're one of a kind."

"My grandpa's attitude is definitely rubbing up on me."

"What do you mean?"

"My grandpa would always say something philosophical Yoda-like stuff whenever he comes to visit and he loves to make us think."

"Sounds like a wise man."

"He is, and I love him to bits. He taught me a lot and tells me to always look from another perspective. I agree with you that this palace ground here is like what you say. It represents power. A way to show off to your neighbour that you're wealthy and capable," Hana paused. "It would be a loss if the successor is incapable of carrying out the legacy. Then, that successor would be recognised as a complete dweeb and would go down through the pages of history as a fool."

Namjoon smiled at her comment. "You got that right. People learn from history whether it's good or bad."

"Thank you for accompanying me today. I bet you'd have some other place to go," said Hana graciously.

"No problem. Like I said earlier I have no solid plan."

"Cool. I'm parched. Do you have to go anywhere after this? Let's go for a snack. Do you know any good places around for street food? I'm craving something oily and sweet."

"I know just the right thing for you."

"Oh wow, that's Emeric and Gabrielle! They're here too," Hana waved excitedly to a group of people at the palace.

Namjoon looked in their direction and saw two guys walking toward her. They then went talking in French which she spoke fluently. She then switched to English as she turned to Namjoon.

"Namjoon, meet Emeric and Gabrielle. We're staying at the same hostel. Emeric, Gabriel, this is a friend of mine Kim Namjoon."

"Pleased to meet you, Namjoon," said Emeric with heavy accented English.

"We didn't know you planned to come here or we would surely come here together," said Gabriel.

"You know I don't actually have a fixed schedule, Gabe," said Hana.

"Are that Luna and Siena?" said Hana, pointing in another direction.

Both Emeric and Gabe turned and blanched. "Got to go, the tour guide is moving. See you at the dorm!" said Gabe, pulling Emeric away as he waved back at them and continued on with their tour.

"Hana!!!" called the two girls enthusiastically and ran towards them.

Then, they started talking excitedly and Namjoon took a step back. Their presence was a bit overwhelming for him. Namjoon then looked at the small crowd curiously. They were talking in another language altogether. Was it Spanish? The girls left as quickly as they came and Namjoon couldn't stop but look at Hana as if he was seeing another person.

"What?" asked Hana.

"Just how many languages do you speak?"

"Well, it's nothing. I learned French at school, and you obviously know I speak passable Korean," she pondered for a bit before continuing. "I have friends who speak Spanish at their home with their family whom I regularly hang out with, so that's another one. There's English so that makes it four."

"Wow."

"It's nothing, really," said Hana modestly.

Her answer just stunned him even more. "You're a polyglot," he said in awe.

"I prefer the term multilingual. The definition of polyglot keeps on changing. First, they say you have to know 3 languages, and then 4, and then they say you have to be able to speak, read and write all those languages. I don't pay much attention to those. It's just another type of labelling that I don't really like. I'm just a normal girl."

"Who spoke a lot of languages," added Namjoon.

"Don't look at me like I'm an alien or something. It's nothing big. Really," she waved.

"You must be a genius to be able to be picking up a lot of languages like that."

"No, I'm just average. I just tend to pick up languages faster and I made a promise to myself to speak Korean while I'm here. Like I told you, most are just conversational. I can read French and Spanish, a bit of Korean and that's about it."

"No. You're going to college, and that would take a lot," commented Namjoon.

"A lot of people are going to college and I'm just one of them. How about you?"

Namjoon went a bit red at her question. He looked in the other direction before answering. "No. I'm focusing to get into the music industry and make music." Most people his age would think of his pursuit of that path was only due to his inability to catch up with the academic subjects. He knew his IQ level wasn't that ordinary but you don't go on telling everyone that you have an IQ of 148. He wondered what Hana thought of him now.

"Hey, don't be shy with me. College is just college. In my opinion, you're getting a quick start on your dream job. You can take online classes while you're working or after you set off if you want to. Heaven knows whether or not will I get a job after I graduate to pay for my study loan. So that, my friend, is nothing to be embarrassed by," said Hana, patting his back. "There are a lot of ways to be successful in life, going to college is not the only one to it. It's just that your route and mine are different. Just don't be a stranger with me when you become famous."

Her answer made Namjoon silent. That was the first time someone have another opinion about college. His parents weren't happy when he told him he wanted to pursue his career in music, not like his friends back home. They relented after they saw his diligence. His friends were understanding when he told them what he wanted to do, but not even a handful of them contacted him after he went to Seoul.

"Are you okay? Did I offend you with what I say?" asked Hana worriedly and that brought Namjoon out of his reverie.

He was too engrossed in his thoughts that he said the first thing that came to his head.

"I need to go to the toilet,".