Soonkyu lived in Andong, a quiet village with not a huge population. The most exciting thing out of the whole year would be the October MaskDance festival. Many tourists liked to visit the village and were very polite to the people who lived there. When the MaskDance festival starts people are instantly captivated, their eyes glow with eagerness to see what happens next.

                Today was October 10, only ten more days till the festival starts. Soonkyu was so excited when her foster parents told her she was allowed to go. The last time she’s been to one was three years ago, but that was with a different family. The first foster family she had was right after her father abandoned her, that was five years ago which means Soonkyu is now fifteen. The best part about the festival was that Soonkyu was able to go with her friends, May and Daehyun. May and Daehyun have always been beside Soonkyu. They are her dearest friends and understand her so well.

                May is a girl who is a few days older than Soonkyu. She loves to play the piano and has been taking lessons ever since she was twelve years old. The way she plays is so beautiful that anyone who hears her would stop and listen to her for however long the song lasts. May has blackish brown hair that hangs a little past her ears. When May is in school she likes to show off her Japanese skills which are fairly good. She can read at least three hundred characters and is able to understand at least five hundred sayings. She wants to improve even though it is her best subject already.

                Daehyun is a boy who has short pitch-black hair; his bangs cover his entire forehead by swaying to the side. He is highly educated and hopes to become a mathematician someday. He loves algebra and even studies it during his free time. His parents died in a car accident when he was only five; therefore he lives with his grandparents. When May and Soonkyu are at his house he likes to play StarCraft with them, an addictive game on the computer that takes a lot of skill. Daehyun is about a whole year older than Soonkyu.

                “Daehyun!” Soonkyu as she stomped across the classroom while the teacher was at lunch. “Don’t tell me you already finished the science project without me! We were supposed to be partners! This isn’t an individual project!” She immediately stopped her rant when she realized that she was gathering a crowd. People started whispering and had strange looks on their faces. May had an annoyed face that read “not again”, Daehyun almost burst into laughter.

                “Soonkyu, I did not even start the project yet… Stop overreacting.” He rolled his eyes at her and smirked.

                “Okay then, can you explain what this is?” Suddenly she took a paper out from behind her back and shoved it at his face.

                As Daehyun was sitting in utter confusion to what the mysterious paper was, Soonkyu suddenly laughed. “See! Told you, you wouldn’t be able to explain!”

                “You didn’t tell me anything; and this isn’t what you think it is. It’s just…” Daehyun looked at it once more and realized it was just a draft. “This is not even the final! It’s a rough draft!” Daehyun amused, laughed while Soonkyu was the one confused this time.

                When the final bell rang, Soonkyu burst out of her seat in a rush to get a snack. School in South Korea wasn’t easy and everyone was hungry at the end of it. “Want to get some KyoChon chicken with me?” KyoChon chicken would have to be the best chicken in all of South Korea. Honey was a personal favorite for Daehyun while Soonkyu and May really liked the spicy kind.

                “Yes! I’m in!” May said in her peppy voice while Daehyun just nodded.

                As Soonkyu and her friends walked to KyoChon, Soonkyu noticed somebody following them. She couldn’t really see if it was a man or a woman since the clothing was all black and he/she was pretty far back. Soonkyu ignored it thinking it was a coincidence.

                “What are you guys doing after this?” Soonkyu asked even though she knew the answer already. Every day after school was about the same; snack, study hall for four hours, dinner, homework, and then finally, sleep. It wasn’t fun but it had to be done.

                “Do you have to ask every day?” May responded.

                “Of course!”

                Soonkyu is the kind of girl who always wants to know what is going on. She is very curious and alert. She is the youngest out of her friends because she was born on May 15th while May had her birthday on the 1st and Daehyun was born a year before on June 28th. Soonkyu has a passion for poetry and reads it daily; she’s even written many in the past. Soonkyu’s love for school isn’t much, yet she is one of the brightest in her whole school. One thing that annoys Soonkyu the most is when people play pranks on her. One time when May and Soonkyu were playing outside Daehyun made them sandwiches that contained ants from the garden. The black critters climbed all over Soonkyu’s face. Because of this Soonkyu didn’t talk to Daehyun for days.

                As an answer, May just shook her head and continued to walk forward. They wandered the streets of Andong, taking their time to arrive at KyoChon.

                “Good afternoon children,” an elder lady said to them as they ventured through town. She was surrounded by many handmade ornaments that possibly represented a god. The wind was slightly blowing which made the ornaments cling together in harmony. It was rather pretty to hear. “Do you want to hear your fortune?” 

                We bowed and answered “no”. She smiled but didn’t push them into it. They moseyed on soundless, just enjoying each other’s company.

                “Where is KyoChon?” Soonkyu silently wondered. “It was here a month ago.” Surprisingly KyoChon was nowhere in sight; it used to be right near the Nakdong river that traveled through the city.

                “Where did it go?” asked Daehyun. May was gaping at the empty lot, horrified. This was one of Soonkyu and her friend’s favorite place to go.

                “So what do we do now?” Soonkyu asked Daehyun since she knew he was always good with coming up with a plan.

                “I don’t know. Home I guess.” He shrugged obviously not as effected as Soonkyu and May. Right when they were about to leave, Soonkyu noticed the person wearing all black again. This time she could tell it was a man because of the way he stood. He was half hidden between a building and was spying on her very carefully. Soonkyu made sure she didn’t let him see that she noticed him.

                “Daehyun, May,” Soonkyu whispered to them. “Somebody is following us.” They turned around to look at Soonkyu, then over her shoulder. May made a short gasp and grabbed Soonkyu by the wrist so she would hurry along. Daehyun also held onto her wrist to guide them through the now very quiet village. It was almost dark and they had to get to study hall before it was too late and they’d be punished.

                They were going around a corner when they realized it was a dead end and there at the end of it was the mysterious man; this time, however, he wasn’t alone. There was another man behind him with a baseball bat in his hand. Both of them had tattoos that stretched up their arms representing a kind of snake. They eyed Soonkyu, May, and Daehyun carefully. Suddenly someone came up from behind Soonkyu and grabbed her hands which knocked her off balance. She fell to the floor and cried out in pain. May was also trapped in a strong hold by another man that held her hands behind her back.

                “Who are you? And what do you want?” May asked in a trembling voice.

                “I want Soonkyu, and I am her father,” said the man who came out of the shadows. He was also wearing all black with a mask that covered his face. He was very tall and different from what Soonkyu used to remember from when she was only ten. He had a snake tattoo that wrapped around his neck and his left eye was black as if he’d been in fight recently. He carried no weapon but had a horrible smile that made Soonkyu want to puke. Soonkyu’s eyes widen when he walked to her; when he was finally in front of her, he crouched down and slapped her across the face. A red mark formed across Soonkyu’s face but she made no evidence of weakness.

                “Soonkyu, I wanted to tell you how happy I am that your mother is gone and that you will be too,” he said in a way that made your skin crawl. Soonkyu looked away not wanting to hear anymore. He grabbed her chin so she had to look at him straight in the eyes. “I killed your mother.”

                The shock was so great that Soonkyu could hear the wind pick up and the leaves fly around them. A dog barked from a distance leaving an echo. May was crying silent tears while Daehyun was now fighting his way out of there. Two men caught him around the throat and starting shouting curses. Soonkyu still had her eyes locked on her father’s who’d now brought a clean blade out from his pocket. Suddenly Soonkyu couldn’t hear anything but the beat of her heart, she could feel her blood rush through her body as her father slowly brought his arm back. May was on her feet now screaming for help as the man holding her grabbed so she couldn’t scream anymore. Everything went slowly as if Soonkyu given up because there really was nothing she could do…