Bows & Beauty

CHAPTER 2

'Home'

The vehicle stopped at the car park in front of a huge entrance to an old Joseon Dynasty Palace. If Seulgi was not mistaken, she thinks this place is called The East Palace.

What in the world are they doing here, Seulgi thought to herself. The driver, Yuri, and the slightly snobbish beauty, Irene, unbuckled their seatbelt and told her to get out from the car. Still perplexed, she loyally abides them and follow suit. The main gate entrance was close and there was only one guard outside in his white uniform and a navy blue cap, feeding a - bobcat.

"Han-nim," Yuri greeted the guard with a small wave, before bending and pats the cat gently, "Did the other two arrive yet?

"Yes," the guard nodded on ahead, where two headlights streak flashing all four of them. The 1959 Cadillac car parked just beside theirs, and a tall boy with short curly brown hair came out from the driver seat, followed by a straight, long, black haired girl, with eyes looking uninterested in everything, yet managed to appear very striking at the same time.

"Thought you guys would arrive first," Irene spoke with a smirk plastered on her face, "and where's your kid? Don't tell me you didn't manage to-"

"Yah ! Wake up !"

Seulgi shuddered a little, surprised at the sudden harsh tone of the long-hair girl. She rapped the window countless time and soon, a sleepy looking girl, looking younger than Seulgi, sluggishly comes out from the car, rubbing her eyes, while looking half confuse on what is going on. Seulgi did not blame her for acting so. She was starting to get drowsy now, but at the same time, she is wondering why the hell is going on.

The other three walked towards them and the two greeted the guard, while the kid, Seulgi named, stares blankly at everyone, but smiled at the cat.

"So, all of us is here then," the tall guy said cheerfully, flashing a smile at Seulgi, in which she replied with a nonchalant gaze. "So what are we waiting for, Mr K is already waiting for us."

The gate open to reveal a huge empty hall and all six of them hastily walked inside, the bobcat following suit, while the guard bid goodnight and close the gate once more. They walk in silence, except for the guy who hummed joyfully in an unknown tune. They walk past a shrine and beside it was a path leading to a faint red colour of an archway. Vines and small white flowers entangled in the curve of the archway making it look more enchanting at the same time, but then, they stopped.

It was so sudden to Seulgi that she accidentally hit the appalling beauty, Irene, from behind, only to be given a death glare from those two jade eyes, while Seulgi continuously bowed her head down in apology.

"This is the barrier," Yuri explained, her eyes darts between Seulgi and the kid, "this is what separates us with the rest. No other mortal could pass throughout this archway, unless-they are one of us."

One of us?

What does that suppose to mean?

Are they some in some illegal association or something?

And what can even pass the archway? A few metres ahead and it was already a dead end. Yuri must be slightly cuckoo in the head.

As if reading Seulgi's mind, Yuri demonstrates. She reached out her left hand and put it into the archway. Both Seulgi and the kid turned wide eye upon what they saw, as half of Yuri's hand is vanished. Poof

"Can we skip this thing already?" the black hair girl looking bored again, "Let me go in first."

The next thing Seulgi knew, the black hair girl walk straight into the archway and-vanished. What kind of black magic is this? Seeing this incident, Seulgi's mind bugged that it was supposed to be scary but her heart was calm as a cucumber although great curiosity of what's inside the archway came upon herself.