“Remember, Chaewon. Always stay out of any problem or it will be difficult for the younger one to survive,” A soft voice chimes inside the room where a twelve-year-old girl with strawberry-colored hair resides. There are also piles of books towering beside the girl who enjoys a quaint atmosphere but tends to involve herself in a sticky situation due to her curious nature.

“I’ll try,” the girl answered coyly before planting her nose inside the book after nodding curtly at the orphanage’s caretaker’s words. She can hear a soft sigh escapes the gentle old lady before the caretaker scoots away from the room, leaving Chaewon who seems indifferent based on her emotionless expression. In fact, Chaewon really wants to tell the caretaker who she and other orphans called ‘Mom’ about the kids in town who often picking up some fights with the orphanage’s residents whenever they are sent for some errand in town.

“Nothing will change, though. It’s not like people will magically pity us or something. We are just some people who are abandoned by our parents after all.”

Chaewon muttered before closing the book and stretching, feeling a bit sluggish as she is spending the whole morning cooped up inside the orphanage’s library. As she is divided between playing with the younger kids or helping in the kitchen, the library’s door suddenly being barged by a group of exasperated-looking kids, “Chaewon unnie! Bad news! There are a lot of soldiers in front of our home!”

Twitching at the kid’s words, Chaewon didn’t hesitate to run with them to the front door where Mom is talking with a nervous look visible within her eyes. Glancing around, Chaewon is surprised to see a few of the older kids are being restrained by the soldiers. Their face portrays excruciate pain as both of their arms twisted on their backs while being restrained like some farm animals.

“Mom? What’s wrong? Why are these soldiers taking away brothers and sisters?”

“Chaewon, take the kids and go back to your room, okay? Mom will take with the soldiers for a while.”

 The young girl wants to inquire a few more questions but when she looked at the mean as well as disgusted look within the soldier’s eyes, she decided to abide by Mom’s words and herd the younger kids back into their playroom. She did well in calming them all, letting the kids playing with several toys in the room, some of them even role-play in becoming a knight who slain some monsters.

Different from Chaewon, she still couldn’t fathom the reasons behind their 18 years old residents are taken away forcefully by the soldiers. In the first place, the presence of soldiers in their rural village seems suspicious enough and Chaewon couldn’t erase the emblem on their mantel. She did remember seeing the same emblem somewhere in her books and thus, she let another kid handle the kids while she headed back to the library and do some research about the emblem on her own.

“Magical Enforcer? I thought the squad already obliterated during the last emperor’s reign?”

She muttered to herself while turning the page to study more about this squad and before long, Chaewon able to digest a few pieces of information which she deems important. Rolling on her back, Chaewon held the book straight in the air while muttering, “The Magical Enforcer seems to target anyone who possesses Dark element as they vow to obliterate anything that associates with it within our Holy country, huh?”

Combing her hair using her tiny fingers, Chaewon is thinking of the benefits behind this squad’s existence. In this world where magic is a part of everyone’s life, she thought that every element is completing each other, creating a beautiful symbiosis in life. However, things might not work in the way Chaewon thoughts because, for some reason, people are celebrating anyone who possesses the Light element while jeering at the one who possesses the Dark element.

“Thinking back, is it because brothers and sisters having Dark element, making them getting detained by those Magical Enforcers?” Chaewon asked herself while shutting her eyes. In this land, once a person turned 18, they will awaken their magical elements which will be a ticket for them in molding their future. As such, it is a rare case for people to possess either Light or Dark element, making them a special case that will gain attention whenever one having the element.

“Let’s just hope I have neither of those. It seems like a drag to have them,” she whispered before collecting the piles of strewn books on the floor and returned them back to the shelves. After making sure everything is arranged accordingly, Chaewon nodded to herself and leave the library, heading right back towards the playroom.

***

[6 YEARS LATER]

“Ugh, why it is so bright here? Make the room a little bit dark please, I want to sleep,” Chaewon whines whil