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Allow me to explain to you a thing. The island of Ookami Shinro is tragically real and tragically small.

New life? New adventures? Yeah, right. As if my former life hadn't been bland enough, I now get to tell people that I'm an actual inhabitant of Ookami Shinro, five days west of Dullville and a few degrees north of Birthplace of the Sun. You take a wrong turn at Pot of Gold in Rainbow Town- you've gone too far.

A strong gust of wind picked up the moment I looked at the tiny airport base, as if it was aware of my pessimistic sentiments to the island. The first thing I noticed was that the island had a warm climate, and that it only existed of the airport and a strip of woods further away. That was it. How people could live here was beyond me. Why would a high-tech major corporation like Extraordinary Technologies choose to build a brandnew research facility in a ghosttown like this?

"Jae? Jae, come over here, baby, look at this!" I turned around at hearing my mother call for me. She gestured for me to come over, as she stood upon a hill where you would be met with a spectacular view of the island- at least that's what I read off the sign.

"Look, isn't it beautiful? It's so peaceful and quaint!" my mother pointed out and far below, comfortably tucked in between forests, mountain walls and the sea, was an actual, civilized, human settlement. There seemed to be enough life there to convince me that it was an actual town, but as I looked around more closely, I frowned.

"Where's the rest of it?" earning me a soft smack on the arm.

"That's all of it, honey. It's bigger than it looks," she defended with a smile as she watched the scenery.

"You sure about that?" I asked skeptically, feeling my stomach churn.

"Of course! It said so in the brochure," she stated, handing me one of those flyers.

"Welcome to Hanwol, capital town and city of Ookami Shinro," I read out loud. "Experience the island life, etcetera, etcetera," I mused, flipping it over, only to see that that was the end of it. They mentioned creating more jobs and attracting 'new neighbors' with the opening of the new Extraordinary Technologies research facility, but that was it. 

"Hanwol, huh?" I mused, glaring at the town. "Is that the only town on the island?" I remarked jokingly, my smile dropping when I saw my mother's expression.

"Actually, it is. The island is a tight-knit community, but you can see that there are small neighborhoods scattered around, if you look closely. I guess that gives people the opportunity to stay closer to the quiet nature instead of the bustling city life, huh?"

I looked at my mother as though she had completely lost her mind. "What city life?" I retorted. "That place is seriously the only form of civilization? What are you going to tell me next, Mom? They don't have wifi? What language do they speak here?"

"Honey, if you would have read all the brochures I've been giving you, you would've known all of this. Just because they're small, it doesn't mean that they're uncivilized, I'm sure they have your precious wifi here, too. As for language, they speak English just fine, but the official language is a mix of Korean and Mandarin, I think...It's supposed to be a very multi-cultural society, though, we'll fit right in!" she smiled brightly while I continued to stare at her, mouth agape. I was never one for dramatical teenage tantrums, but this was probably the first time that I really wouldn't mind creating a scene. Did she seriously not understand that I was having a crisis here?

"Do they know what young people are?" I asked a little brashly, since the only people I've seen so far sported brilliant silver locks, or no locks at all. 

"Jae, don't be dramatic. They have a very lively young community," she waved the brochure in my face. 

"Ugh. So, where is Dad's new company then? If that's the only city, shouldn't the building be seen from here?" I changed the subject because if we kept going on about the particulars of Hanwol village, I might actually cry all over again. 

"Ah, that will be on the other side of the airport, we'll pass it when we get to our new house," my mom practically squealed and I really wished I could share her enthusiasm. However, the only thing I wanted to do was run straight back to the airplane to get me back home. 

"Ladies, let's go!" Dad appeared in the distance, waving at us. My mother didn't skip a beat when she linked her arm with mine and dragged me with her to meet him. 

While my parents were chatting excitingly with each other about the 'beautiful' and 'green' island scenery, I was sulking in the backseat, playing around with my phone. Of course I had no signal here. I would need a new card to make it work. Right now all I wanted to do was text my friends and have them organize a rescue mission. I caught sight of the bright blue sky when I looked outside, but even that didn't comfort me. Same skies, my , I thought bitterly. I've never seen the sky look so unfamiliar to me before. 

"And to your left, you will see the ecological, brandnew, state of the art Extraordinary Technologies Research Facility!" Dad announced from the front seat while the shining building came into sight. The sunlight reflected off of it, creating sparkles that nearly blinded me. The building practically stood in the middle of a recreational area, of some sort, or maybe it was purposely designed that way to give off this sense of eco-friendliness. I'm sure that would take all the attention off the electrical barbed wire surrounding the area, of course. 

"Wow, this one is even more fancy than the old one," Mom mused as she kept looking at it as long as possible. 

"Yeah, they put some hard work in it, updated it with the latest tech. There isn't a building in the world like it," Dad explained and I was inclined to believe him.

"So, what's up with the military security then?" I noted, catching just a glimpse of what I thought were armored cars.

"Just a precaution, sweetie, you know how these businesses work," he answered.

"It's a building for scientific research and innovations, right? So, what is up with the gates that go zap! if you go near? Afraid that the robots you create are gonna start a revolt?" I leaned against the two front seats while I was drilling my father, but he only laughed it off. 

"Those are animal friendly warning systems. Ookami Shinro is known to have a lot of animals on the island, and those fences are just there to make sure they stay safe in their natural habitat. Hey, I bet that if you listen at night, you may hear a lone wolf howling at the moon!" he chuckled. 

"Yeah, right," I huffed, leaning back in the seat, a silence falling. 

"I know this is hard at first, Jade, but we'll pull through, huh?" Dad commented, as though he could tell exactly what I was feeling. 

"Exactly. Before you know it, you're gonna like it here. Look at all these woods. Provided that you're careful, you could go and explore them, and you could explore the town, get to know the island and meet new friends, especially when you start school," Mom chirped in all her optimistic glory. "You'll be so popular, baby." 

"Popular?" I prompted skeptically. I was never a popular girl, with my average looks and average school results. I blended. I was a blender who never stood out- until now. A surge of panic overwhelmed when I realized that a sleepy place like Hanwol probably never got a lot of visitors from the world outside (yes, I truly believe I've ended up in an alternate universe), and with a town this small, they must've already know that we were coming. I hadn't thought of it before, and now I wished I hadn't. This was great. I was gonna be a freak before I even stepped into the school. A novelty, that's all.

I groaned and pulled my hoodie over my head. "I don't want to be popular, I just want to go home," I whined, giving in to my inner petulant child.  When my father started his speech about the benefits and opportunities of us moving here, I gave up. I didn't want to listen to him. I grabbed my earphones and listened to music, hoping that would calm me down somewhat. When I looked outside, I took a doubletake, seeing a flash of white through the green trees. 

"Hey, Dad, slow down," I said, interrupting him while he was still talking, actually thinking I was listening and he slowed down. 

"What is it, Jae?" Mom asked, looking outside. We were flanked by forests on either side of the narrow and abandoned road. 

"I thought I saw something," I peered out the window, looking for the flash of white, when all of a sudden. "Whoa! There!" I tapped on the window, the crappy feelings quickly dispersing when I realized I was looking at a white wolf. The gorgeous creature had stopped to observe us well, while I was gawking at it like a fish. It must've been the forest, but I thought there was a green sheen in its eyes. 

"Are you guys seeing this?" I exclaimed, clumsily getting my phone to snap a picture. 

"See what? I can't see anything," Dad said. 

"What? It's right there- aw, it ran off," I muttered disappointingly. "There was a white wolf right there, three seconds ago. I can't believe you guys didn't see it." 

"A white wolf?" Mom repeated, while Dad howled. 

"It was right there, I swear," I said, scoffing when I caught them smiling at each other. "Forget it," I mumbled. 

"Well, sweetie, if you really saw a white wolf, maybe we should be more careful around here. I don't want you hunting for wolves on your own," Mom started muttering, thinking that I was listening. I closed my eyes as the forest flashed by. How could they not have seen it? It was right there where they could see it... 

Maybe I was jetlagged. My mind was playing tricks on me. Or, maybe, it was the island's way of welcoming us. I shook my head and drifted off. Let my problems come when I wake again.