Prologue; Circus
{ in which our heroine decides to go to the abandoned part of town }

"Hey guys," Eunae said as she sat down at her desk in the morning where some of her friends were already talking. They all turned to her though, curious. "Guess what I found last night?" she asked, producing a small flier that read 'Circus : Tomorrow night only!'. "I saw it last night on my way home. I think we should go. It looks fun."

They gave her wary looks as they looked at the flier. "I don't know," her friend Kyungjin said, shaking her head. "It doesn't sound safe in my mind. Plus the flier looks...sketchy. And I haven't heard anything else about it."

"What are you guys afraid of?" Eunae mocked, crossing her arms. "It's perfectly fine! It's the circus, after all."

"But, Eunae, look at the address," someone else pointed out. "That's the bad part of town. I don't think there's anything there besides gangs and drug dealers and stuff." She shuddered. "I don't think we should go."

"We're not," Kyungjin said, raising a brow. "And you're not going either, Eunae. It's not safe."

Eunae sighed as she sat back in her chair, looking at her friends. "Fine, I won't go," she lied, looking at the flier and tucking it back in her bag for later. She was going to the circus--whether her friends wanted her to or not. That was probably both the best and worst part about Eunae; she would do whatever she set her mind to, regardless of what it was. It was good when it came to grades and things like that, but with this...well, she would see later if it was a good idea. Until then, it didn't matter. Besides, how could a flier look sketchy? It was the circus. Nothing bad ever happened at the circus, right?

- - - - -

After school, Eunae headed home, greeting her mom as she came through the door with a tired "I'm home." Her mom boredly told her there were apples cut on the table, not even looking up from her magazine.

Eunae had a good mother, she really did. Her mother simply wasn't the type to worry or fawn over her in any obvious way. She was more of the silent caring type. Eunae's parents were divorced, her dad living away, married to someone else, giving Eunae a step-brother that was older than her, already in college. Her mom was dating, but hadn't found anyone to settle down with just yet.

Eunae began to snack on a few of the apple slices, glancing at her mom again, who was still looking at the magazine. "Hey mom?" she called.

"Yes, honey?"

"Is it alright if I go see a movie with Kyungjin tonight? I should be back before midnight." Well, at least only half of it was a lie.

"That's fine. Just don't stay out too late--is her brother going with you? You girls shouldn't be out too late by yourselves."

"I'm sure he'd go if we asked him to." Eunae finished the fruit, picking her school bag up, already starting to head towards her room. "Then it's fine. Have fun."

Eunae grinned to herself as she closed the door to her room, opening up her closet and looking around for something to wear. She settled on a sweater, skirt, and leggings, leaving her hair down. She shoved her wallet, phone, and the flier into the pocket of her jacket, going downstairs and telling her mom she'd be back later. First, she was going to the circus.

She walked a few blocks down then waved down a taxi as it passed. She pulled the flier out from her pocket and told the driver the address. He gave her a wary look, warning her what part of town she was headed to. "Oh, I know," she replied. "I'll be alright."

- - - - -

When the taxi stopped, Eunae realized why her friends and the driver had been telling her not to come here. She didn't see any people, and in fact, it was a bit obvious that the area was abandoned. Street lights flickered, grass grew from the cracks in the road and cement. Some of the shop windows were even shattered, busted, or boarded up.

"I can bring you back," the driver told her when he saw her expression.

"N-no, that's okay." She swallowed thickly, mad at herself for sounding weak.

"You sure?" He sounded wary. "I'll do it free of charge. It's dangerous around here."

Eunae took a deep breath, calming herself before looking over at the driver and forcing a smile. "No. I'm alright. Thank you for the offer, though." She paid him and got out of the taxi, staring at the flier's address in her hand as the car drove away, leaving her alone in a seemingly abandoned town.

Taking a careful step forward, she looked around, peering into dark shop windows, jumping when a street light busted over her, leaving a section of the street in darkness. Eunae quickly hurried along until she reached an area that looked like it might have been a circus at some point. The ground was dirt and dust, and there seemed to be red and white striped tents in the distance.

Brightening up, Eunae headed in its direction, pausing when she saw a small display lit up with clown figures in the window. There were bright lights flashing with "Welcome" signs, and it was obvious someone had to be here, and yet she didn't see anyone except the clown mannequins.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she approached the display, blinking at the figures. They were all dressed in suits, posed differently, and each had a different clown mask on. A smile began to tug at Eunae's lips as she tilted her head at them, enjoying the craftmanship of each one. She walked down the line to look at the fifth of the six set up in the window, tilting her head. Just when she was about to move on to the sixth, the fifth moved, jumping closer to the class and raising his arms above his head.

Eunae scrambled back, bumping into someone. Heart racing, she whirled to look at the person, only to find a clown mask staring back at her. Unable to take everything in, her eyes fluttered and she collapsed on the ground.

Everything went black.

A/N;

Yeah so the intro is kind of short and it rushes into the plot, I know. But I'm impatient and it's for a good reason.

First chapter should be up soon. Thank you <3