I never imagined today would be the day I'd find myself smack in the middle of a fantasy novel trope. But here I was, receiving a frantic call from my best friend, I-seo.

"Sena, please… hurry…" Her voice trembled with a blend of panic and static.

Before I could even utter a 'what's wrong?', the line went dead.

A chill zigzagged down my spine as I grabbed my keys and made a mad dash out of my apartment. The drive to her house was usually a breeze, but today, every red light seemed to conspire against me. The universe, it seemed, had a twisted sense of humor.

Arriving in what felt like a century later, I skidded to a halt and gawked at the scene before me. Where I-seo's backyard should have been, a gargantuan stone tower now stood, its spires menacing the clouds above. The air around it shimmered with a magical aura as if the tower itself was alive and slightly annoyed at the inconvenience of its sudden relocation.

The local crowd was a circus of reactions—some were screaming about alien invasions, others were busy making the next viral video.

"Is this a new theme park attraction?" one spectator wondered aloud.

"Nope, this smells like genuine, grade-A magic!" a teenager declared, her excitement bubbling over as she live-streamed the event.

I elbowed my way through the buzzing crowd, heart hammering. "I-seo!" I called out, hoping my voice carried over the growing murmur.

"Sena, over here!" Her call guided me to the base of the mystical monstrosity.

She wasn’t alone. Flanking her were two men who looked like they had just walked off a Renaissance fair poster.

A/n: I-seo's fangirling face

Prince Luke, as imposing as any royal should be, had an air of authority that seemed to silence the air around him. His piercing gaze swept over the scene with an imperial chill, and his attire—a mix of velvet and disdain—screamed 'bow down'.

Count Amiel, the golden-haired heartbreaker standing next to him, carried a dangerous charm. His smile was a perfect blend of angelic and alarming, making it clear he wasn't the type to play fair in matters of war or wooing.

"Sena, thank God!" I-seo pulled me into a panic-powered hug.

I blinked at the duo, then at the tower, and back at her. "Okay, spill it. What’s with the medieval meet-and-greet?"

Before she could answer, Prince Luke stepped forward, his voice as cold as an unplanned dip in a frozen lake. "You," he accused, "have caused this chaos, have you not?"

"Excuse me?" I stammered, stepping back into last week. "I think you have the wrong person!"

"It's my fault!" I-seo interjected quickly. "I wrote about your tower, about you, and somehow—"

Count Amiel’s smirk widened, not quite reaching his eyes. "So, the plot thickens. Should we eliminate the threat?" he mused, clearly enjoying the drama.

"Eliminate? Can we not escalate to medieval solutions in modern crises?" I managed, my voice a notch too high.

"Enough," Prince Luke snapped, his glare silencing his mischievous counterpart.

Behind us, the crowd’s curiosity was morphing into a panic party. They were inching closer, whispers turning into a crescendo of wild speculation.

"Is that Prince Luke?" one voice whispered in awe.

"And Count Amiel with him! What in the world is happening?" One of the people of Valeraine said.

"Are we on camera?" Other Koreans said while passing by.

Luke’s frown deepened, and he faced me again. "We must depart. Immediately."

"Understatement of the year," I muttered, snagging I-seo's arm. "Follow me. My car's this way."

We threaded through the gawking onlookers until we reached my decidedly non-chariot-like vehicle—a compact little sedan that screamed average office worker, not a heroic quest.

“Get in,” I barked, fumbling with my keys. “Move, move!”

Prince Luke stared at the car door as though it might bite him. “And this contraption is…?”

“It’s called a car,” I said, exasperated. “Hop in before they start asking for autographs or decide to burn us at the stake.”

They piled in, Prince Luke still eyeing the interior with thinly veiled suspicion, Count Amiel fiddling with the seatbelt harness like it was a snake. I half-expected them to demand a horse, but they remained silent—probably from shock.

I slid behind the wheel, started the engine, and jerked away from the curb. As the crowd receded behind us, my mind whirled with questions: How did a giant tower from Valeraine appear in suburban Korea? What cosmic glitch had I-seo triggered? And more importantly… did my insurance cover “realm-jumping princes scratching the paint?”