“How are we supposed to get in?" Minjeong frowned, placing her hands on her hips. She was getting really irritated by how complex everything was. Also, she was getting pretty hungry.

 

“Through the mouse hole," Squirrel smiled and pointed towards the other side of the house. She lead the way, obviously familiar with the area, as she wasted no time. Minjeong just sighed and followed.

 

They neared a relatively big hole, curved into a perfect circle and certainly big enough to fit the both of them. Squirrel motioned for her to follow as she walked in, Minjeong shortly at her heels. It was rather dark, eerily reminiscent of a certain hole, but the difference this time was that Minjeong was not alone, and she felt so much better about that.

 

A light gradually began to appear at the end, and the duo fleeted quickly towards it. Minjeong couldn't help but feel a reluctant nervousness bubbling in her stomach, but she argued it was only there for good reason; every hallway she had been down so far had been nothing but trouble, and though Squirrel seemed like a sweet girl, her notion for normalcy was probably a pitch off from standard. But if she had to look back at the whole situation, she was putting her trust in a girl named Squirrel, so Minjeong followed because she had eventually concluded that this was the most logical thing to do.

 

As they reached the end, the pair made their way inside the house, and to Minjeong’s great surprise, it was actually a house.

 

It was rather a funny feeling being so small and gazing into a room that was so normal. She had to crane her neck wildly to catch a glimpse of anything that wasn't a wooden leg or a rug. Though, as she took a better look and strolled around the living room, Minjeong quite enjoyed the quaint little house. Furnished with some charming yellow and blue tapestry and cushions, she smiled approvingly. It was a bit cramped, she had noticed, even for being only ten inches tall, but it was best for her not to complain. The space was respectable, no doubt, and she was almost certain the oak table sets were from Pottery Barn.

 

Squirrel had already moved near the center of the room, standing next to the leg of one of the plush blue couches. She reached underneath the sofa, her hand outstretched as she extracted what seemed to be a little shiny bell. She shook it earnestly, the sound tinkling zealously through the household. Minjeong ran to join her, both in anxiety and alarm, and she stood behind, peeking over her companion's shoulder. Suddenly, a thundering sound shook the room, and Minjeong balanced herself as she gripped the sofa's leg and controlled herself not to fall down. Squirrel grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly, giving her a small smile as she pulled her away from the couch.

 

The noise was getting louder, echoing across the floor, and suddenly, it reached its peak as two distinguishable stomps sounded an end. In front of her were a pair of very large black, high-heeled shoes, belonging to one very large lady. Minjeong tilted her head back, doing a complete scan of the whole body, and inevitably, she let out a loud gasp.

 

“Squirrel?" the body called out, though her voice was far too gentle to belong to such a huge creature. "Is that you?"

 

“Hello, Ms. Dodo!" Squirrel waved, and Minjeong took a step back in shock when the being crouched down, her hands placed on her knees.

 

“Hi, Squirrel," the lady greeted calmly, a happy smile dancing on her lips. 

 

Tiffany-sunbaenim?

 

Judging by what had been transpiring, this huge lady could not possibly be the Tiffany Young. Though it was significantly less frightening seeing a beautiful and friendly face, Minjeong admitted. 

 

“I see you brought a friend."

 

Squirrel smiled, letting go of Minjeong’s hand as she bashfully nudged her forward. Minjeong took in a deep breath before smiling as well, sorting out the ends of her shirt. "I'm Kim Minjeong." She felt like her introduction needing something a little more, for this Ms. Dodo seemed like something of a magical sorcerer, so she added a small curtsy in the end to add a more respected effect.

 

“Hello, Kim Minjeong." She studied her for a minute and then continued, "Have you always been this small?"

 

“Oh, no, Ma’am!" she cried out, shaking her arms and head fervently. "It's just this one time! And while it's a refreshingly different perspective, I really prefer my old one. You can hardly do anything with being so tiny!" She glanced back at Squirrel. "No offense."

 

Ms. Dodo smiled and nodded her head understandingly. "Hmm, did you take a certain drink that made you this way?”

 

“Yes!" Minjeong went on. She had begun pacing in a circle, eager to tell her tale. It was about time someone provided her with some well-needed sympathy. "It all started when I woke up from a nap. I'm not from here. I was practicing with the other trainees at SM? Have you heard of it? It’s in Seoul. Do you know where that is? Of course you don't, and I don't blame you. It seems like you guys have been living under a rock. But please don’t take offense! Anyways, as I was saying, I just woke up from a nap, and all of a sudden, this girl dressed in white started running through the hallways! She kept saying, 'I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!' And of course when you make such an entrance, you absolutely must know what all the fuss is about! So I followed her, trying to ask whatever she was so late for and why it couldn't wait. As I was running after her, I followed her in this hole. Perhaps it was a rabbit hole! Can you believe it? A rabbit hole! So I'm in a hole, and I'm falling for such a long time. And finally I land, and there are all these doors but none would open. Then I find this key, but the door was too small for me to fit through. So then I find this drink and I turn small and then I find this cookie and I turn big, and then I start crying and I grab a glove and I'm small again and there's Squirrel and it's just such a tragic tale!" Minjeong threw her arms in the air, breathing heavily over her story.

 

All the while, Squirrel had seated herself Indian-style, listening intently to Minjeong’s rant. Ms. Dodo, though she seemed busy preparing something, was listening as well, her face contorted with honest empathy. "I'm very sorry, Kim Minjeong," she insisted. "You've had a very hard time."

 

“It’s been awful," she sighed and rested her head on her right palm. "And I would very much like to go home."

 

Ms. Dodo nodded. She walked towards her and bent down, handing her a tiny honey cookie in her hands. "I want you to eat this, but only take two bites, and it will restore you back to your original height.”

 

Minjeong raised an eyebrow and grabbed the cake suspiciously. "How do I know it's not poison?"

 

Ms. Dodo raised two fingers in the air, a kind smile on her face. "Cross my heart it's not poisoned."

 

It was a silly and childish gesture, but this whole thing was silly and childish, so Minjeong did what she was told and shut her eyes, preparing for the consequences. After several moments, she peeked through one eyelid to find that she was delightfully looking right at Ms. Dodo's face.

 

“I'm tall again!" Minjeong exclaimed and began jumping eagerly up and down. Ms. Dodo laughed as she bent down towards the floor and reached out her hand for Squirrel to climb on. She stood back up and placed Squirrel on the glass table, who pleasantly returned back to her seated position. Minjeong refrained from frolicking as she soaked in her excitement, taking in every bit of her natural height. "Oh, it's so much better to see everything from here. Thank you, thank you so much!" She leaped towards Ms. Dodo and hugged her tightly, and she laughed in response and hugged her back.

 

“I'm glad to be of help, Minjeong. Now tell me, you said you wanted to go back home?”

 

Minjeong suddenly felt very conscious as she retracted from her hug, placing herself down on one of the couches. "Oh, yes," she began, her voice noticeably smaller. Ms. Dodo had just helped her regain back her height, and now she was requesting another favor of her. If this were any other time and she was any other person, Minjeong would hardly be bothered by her actions, but her hospitality had been so warm that she felt horrible by her consistent requests. "Ms. Dodo," she began very slowly, "where am I, exactly?”

 

She took a deep breath, as if preparing her for the answer. "You're in Kwangya, Minjeong."

 

She stared at Ms. Dodo, though she showed no indications of lying or teasing. Taking in a deep breath, Minjeong frowned significantly. "Seems really wild to me," she bit out and folded her arms.

 

“I understand this place must be horribly confusing to you," Ms. Dodo smiled and sat down across from her. "But please understand that what I'm going to ask of you may be terribly frightening, but you must do it in order to get home."

 

"... Excuse me?”

 

“This may not come as a surprise to you, but we don't get many new visitors in Kwangya." Squirrel nodded her head in agreement. "And the ones we do get, well, they are rather special. They've always done something to help us. They've become heroes - "

 

“Hold on," Minjeong paused her, holding a single palm in the air. "You're talking like I'm some sort of warrior. I just want to go home!”

 

“Minjeong," Ms. Dodo started, sounding serious. "Most people don't come to Kwangya without a reason. You see, Squirrel is here because she helps lead people to the right direction. I'm here because I try and teach others things they need to know. The girl you met earlier, the White Rabbit, she makes sure things occur on time.”

 

“She isn't doing a very great job," Minjeong muttered.

 

“You have a purpose here too."

 

“This is all a mista