AN: So, I've decided to change my updating schedule. From now on, I will be (most likely) updating every monday. This will be posted on the in the foreward as well. Also, look at my new posters! I has 3! They're all so amazing that I don't know which to use though, so I'll probably alternate between chapters ^-^

Also, I know this one is kinda short and the ending is awkward, but I had to stop it somewhere!

     It was a bright sunny day in Seoul, South Korea that found a group of young girls walking home from school. The youngest of the group —who just a month ago had turned twelve and was still very small for her age— as usual was lagging behind her pack of friends, caught up in a daydream.

     Not paying attention to where she was walking, the girl failed to notice a rock wedged inbetween the sidewalk cracks until her foot caught on it and she faceplanted on the cement.

     "Apa..." the girl groaned as she slowly stood up and dusted herself off. Noticing the rock, she picked it up to get a closer look. After dusting it off, the girl realized that it was actually quite pretty. The black quartz-like stone —about the size of half a baseball— glittered and sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.

     Her friends, realizing that the girl was much farther back than usual, stopped and called out to her. "Yah, Choi EunSu! You coming or what?"

     "Yeah, wait up!" EunSu shouted, slipping the stone in her pocket before running after her friends.

≈♦≈

     Later that evening as she was preparing for bed, the mysterious stone kept drawing young EunSu's gaze. Even as the girl lay in her bed, she wondered about it.

     "Why was it just laying there on the sidewalk?" thought the twelve year old as she stared at her ceiling, watching the shadows make shapes that weren't there. EunSu turned over on her side, looking at her newfound treasure which she had placed squarely in the center of her bedside table. At that time of night the moonlight was shining in through the window and directly on the stone, making it sparkle and glitter in the dark. "I don't know why, but I get this feeling that it shouldn't have been there. Like it's... important, somehow."

     EunSu sighed. Deciding to think about all of this the next day, the girl flipped over to face away from the rock. In a few minutes, the twelve year old was fast asleep.

     The poor girl never noticed the pale green glow that reached out from the stone and surrounded her. Too soon for anything to be done, the green light was gone... and so was Choi EunSu.

≈♦≈

     EunSu was falling.

     The twelve year old opened her eyes, then quickly shut them and screamed. She was falling from high up in the sky at an alarming rate towards what appeared to be some medeival city.

     Due to her fit of hysteria, EunSu failed to realize that as she neared the ground, her descent slowed down until at last she was hovering over a traditional hanok¹.

     "Luhan, calm her," came a voice from within EunSu's mind before a sense of peace washed over the girl. Now calm, the twelve year old once again began to fall —this time at a much slower rate— downwards.

     As if she was a ghost, EunSu descended though the roof of the building and through the floor, all the way down to the lower levels. At last she came to a stop at the most central part of the building.

     EunSu examined her surroundings. The room she was in was completely white —from the walls to the only visible exit, a simple white-washed door to her left. To her right, a masked man in a white suit sat at a white desk, looking at several mirrors. Other than EunSu, he was the only one in the room.

     The twelve year old got upfrom where she sat on the floor and walked over to the masked man, standing on the opposite side of the desk. "Excuse me, sir, but could you tell me where I am?" EunSu asked. The man at the desk gave no sign that he heard her.

     EunSu frowned. "Sir! Could you tell me where I am?" she repeated, louder this time.

     When the masked man once again didn't respond, the twelve year old became frustrated. "YAH!" the girl shouted. "I know you can hear me!"

     "Actually, he can't," said the voice from earlier, making EunSu jump. "He can't hear me, either. Only you can."

     "Wh-who—"

     "Don't worry, I'll explain later," the voice interrupted. "For now, I'll answer your earlier question. At the moment, you are in the office of the Puppet Master. All that's really known about him is that he's a dark and powerful man. I wish I could tell you more."

     There was a knock at the office door, putting a stop to any further questions EunSu might have asked. The Puppet Master glanced up at the door. "Ah, that must be them now," he muttered as he made sure his mask was firmly in place. He leaned back in his chair, giving off a feeling of power. "You may enter."

≈♦≈

Glossary of terms: Chapter 3

1} Hanok: A traditional Korean home