Seoul, 23: 57 pm

A small cat is seen on the streets, alone among the emptiness of the night. She’s trotting down the sidewalk, long tail swishing back and forth as it pleases. It’s a beautiful cat by normal standards - wide green orbs as eyes and fur as white as the first drop of snow on a winter’s morning except for the random brown spots dotted on its body, covering half of its face and the tail completely. In fact, it is a beautiful cat - if one was willing to look over the missing right eye. At last, this particular cat is always overlooked.

She’s crossing the streets now, turning its head left and right to make sure it’s safe enough before she dashes forward, paws dainty on the pavement. The cat passes by a bakery and two small boutiques before making a right turn next to a stop sign. She passes more shops, doesn’t even spare them a glance on her haste to reach her destination. She only stops for a second, ears twitching as she catches something moving in the dark, behind the trash cans. It doesn’t matter however because she ignores that too and moves along. She’s in a hurry.

The cat passes more blocks and makes two more turns before she halts, staring wide eyed at the building before her. J:J lines up the top of the store, dim and unattainable to the eyes unless the lights are switched on. It’s empty and locked up, the garage doors a clear sign that the boutique is closed, please come again in the morning. It doesn’t seem to bother the cat, though, because she bats a single eyelid at the sign and walks around the building, stopping right in front of the back door. She waits.

Two minutes passes, three.

The back door opens and a single tall figure peeks out. Hidden by the shadows, his face is hardly seen except for a sliver of a sharp nose that seems to shine even in the darkness. His fingers are as long as they are thin, grasping the side of the door firmly. The cat meows its greeting. “Nari, hello.” The strange figure grins and opens the door a tad bit wider, just enough for her to slip in. The door locks behind them.

It has become a routine now, for Nari the blind cat to stop by one of Seoul’s upcoming boutique to meet up with her friend, the strange doll. For the figure that greets her is a doll, one that talks and walks like a human. He hasn’t got a name, though, not that he’s ever mentioned before. “They call me a mannequin, though - whatever that is.” He had said once, running his hand ov