Our story happens in a world where whimsical dreams come true and possibilities are limitless. It is where inanimate object can move through magic. They can not only move but can also think and feel like human beings. There once lived an 80 year old man with his 1 year old granddaughter, Ji Eun. The old man runs a shop called Machineria. He is a genius machine maker that fuses magic with machines to make it achieve 100% efficiency and will last forever. This magic is in a form of an ore acquired by digging up mysterious caves.
One day, Ji Eun’s father went to a mysterious cave to dig up magic ores but he never came back. After a few days, Ji Eun’s mother became worried and followed her husband while carrying Ji Eun. But she didn’t come back also. When Ji Eun’s grandfather went and look for them the next day, he only found Ji Eun crying on the ground. But her grandfather noticed that a black heart symbol is tattoed on Ji Eun’s left arm. After much research, he found out that once in a century the mysterious cave grants wishes though the payment for this wish is never known. Ji Eun’s symbol in her left arm is for eternal youth. People with this tattoo will never grow after the age of 20. He just wanted Ji Eun to live a normal life so he kept this secret to her in the dark until the day that he died.
Eight years after Ji Eun’s grandfather died, Ji Eun grew up to be a fine woman at the age of 17. She took over her grandfather’s shop and is also a genius machine maker. Although she is a genius, she is still innocent and often fooled by bad people. Therefore, the shop Machineria never became famous. Though a few devoted customers often visits the shop.
“Ji Eun-ah! How’s the shop?” asked a lady customer.
“Oh, Hyorin-unni! Welcome! The shop is good. What can I help you today?” said Ji Eun while brimming her beautiful smile and dusting off a doll sitting on a chair.
“Nothing. I’m just checking on you.” She noticed the doll that Ji Eun is cleaning. “Is that a doll? He is beautiful! That doll can be a model with his long legs and white complexion.” Hyorin came closer and inspect the doll. “Woah! He even has green eyes, and the proportion of his face is perfect! He is totally my style. Can I buy him? I’ll give you a lot of money.” she exclaimed.
“Sorry, unni. This doll is not for sale. It is the only thing that my grandfather gave me. I just found him a while ago while cleaning upstairs.” said Ji Eun who is very busy removing the dust on the doll.
“Awts! That’s too bad...I sense great magical power in him. Your grandfather is really a genius to create such a doll. But why isn’t he moving?” said Hyorin.
“My grandfather said that he will only move when I matured. I don’t know when is that.” said Ji Eun. She finished cleaning and looked at Hyorin and asked “When is the time when a woman matures?”
Hyorin think for a moment and said, “Maybe at the age of 25? You know that’s when most women would like to get married.”
After hearing what Hyorin said Ji Eun felt kind of disappointed, “So he would wake up when I am 25? That’s a very long time! I don’t think I could wait that long.”
