The two girls pushed through the doors, head to head in their personal race. The girl with the longer hair came through first while her friend slowed from an elbow digging into her back. A moment later she fell, her face flat on the floor.

“I win, yes!” She then proceeded with a little victory dance. The losing party got up, wincing from the slight carpet burn to her cheeks.

“That’s not fair, Yuri.” She scowled. “You cheated. I felt you nudge me as we were coming in.”

Yuri shook her head, tossing the ends of her hair in the process. “You can’t prove it.”

Her friend’s glare darkened. “Fine, screw you.”

Yuri could see her friend was upset so in comfort she put an arm around her. Her friend was slightly taller than her but not by much. She had shorter hair, however; when it was down, it fell past her shoulders. At present it was tied up in a bun.

“Cheer up Minkyung,” Yuri said. “You’ll probably beat me when it comes to studying. In the last ranking you came twentieth out of our whole year. I’ll probably be fiftieth again, maybe less.”

“Only because you can’t give up on what distracts you,” Minkyung stated as the two walked calmly to the stairs. The group study areas were on the floor above, near the fiction collection.

“I’m good at my track running, thank you very much!”

“I meant your other interests…” Yuri knew that look. That look was one Minkyung gave when she was giving subtle hints to a different subject but wouldn’t mention it in the open. To this Yuri just faked a laugh and swished her hair again.

“I haven’t dated that many guys this year.”

“Well, there was that guy at the café last month and the boy in the year above, what was his name again?” Minkyung stopped to think it over as they came to the study area. They both placed their bags on a table with two chairs in ownership.  

“Park Sungmin and no we didn’t date; that was a one week fling.” Yuri added in her defence. “I think you’re just jealous of the fact that I get more attention from guys than you.”

To this Minkyung held her hands open, palms out. “Okay, I’ll admit that, well, maybe I am a bit jealous. Other than that I don’t really care.”

“You will someday,” Yuri said. “Someday they’ll be a guy that you really, really like and he won’t even look at you. Know why? Because you’re ugly,” That word triggered an emotional response from Minkyung, who then reached for Yuri’s head, starting to pull her hair.

“Try saying that again when you’re bald!”

“I take it back I’m sorry,” Yuri got out of her chair and bowed down as far as she could go. She was somewhat careless with what she said at times. Minkyung tended to be particularly sensitive to being called ugly, just like other girls would. “Someday a guy will like you back because he will see you are pretty and more.”

“Thank you,” Minkyung didn’t really appreciate it. She felt Yuri just wanted to cover her . As much as the two loved each other, there were times they were the worst of enemies.

The two spent the next half an hour or so reading through their text books and notes on the subjects they were having exams for soon. Yuri kept a checklist next to her, ticking two of the boxes after she’d spent fifteen minutes on those subjects. Minkyung was stuck on the history text book she’d read over and over, just the one chapter. History had always interested her, and there had been times she wished Yuri shared this fascination with her instead of running and boys.

“Hey, Minkyung,” she didn’t move from her spot, glancing at her notes beside her in cross comparing information. Yuri picked up her pen lid and flicked it at her. The lid hit Minkyung’s book, making her jump. She glared at Yuri.

“Hey, can you knock it off?”

“Can’t we have a break?” Minkyung’s eyes wandered for a moment, searching for the time. She found the clock on the wall.

“We’ve only been here for half an hour at most. In half an hour we can.”

“You’ve been stuck reading the same chapter ever since we got here.” Yuri pointed out. “I’m starting to think you’re now reading it for fun.”

“It’s called being thorough. How long did you spend on maths just before? Was it five, ten minutes at most, perhaps?”

“I’ll go over it at home, I can guarantee it.”

“We’ll take a break in fifteen minutes.”

“No, now Minkyung,” Yuri wouldn’t budge. Her eyes were boring themselves into her friend, who was no longer paying any attention. 
“I know you aren’t studying.”

“Not until I’ve had my break.” Minkyung looked up, Yuri’s arms were folded. At her friend's defiance, she sighed and closed the book. “Alright fine. Five minutes, but that’s it.”

“Okay,” But Yuri was putting her books back in her school bag. Minkyung gathered hers up into a neat pile for easier access. “So, what is it you want to do?”

“I need to pee,” Yuri said. “But I heard that there’s a special display near the nonfiction. Want to take a look when I get back?”

“Okay, that’s fine,” Minkyung agreed, standing to stretch her legs as Yuri hurried downstairs to the toilets. Sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder how she and Yuri had managed to stay friends over the years.

Minkyung was reserved, enjoyed reading books over comics and struggled to talk with guys let alone those in her year. The only guy she’d ever been comfortable was her older brother Minsu, but he was in Seoul for work. Minkyung didn’t tell others what he did because his job meant gave him connections with the stars in the country. If they knew this then nobody would leave her alone.

Yuri, on the other hand, had several close male friends that she spoke to informally. She loved being outside and running; her athleticism was quite well known in their school. But when it came to studying, she couldn’t concentrate on the subjects that she did not enjoy or did poorly in. Maths and science were her weaknesses while Minkyung did just above average in them herself.

Yuri also had been born with good genes, a round face, big eyes and small but cutely shaped lips. Minkyung felt that while she wasn’t ugly, she wouldn’t place high if her year ever did a beauty ranking. The reason would be her nose, which was almost flat.

But appearance didn’t help anyone when it came to studying. Minkyung knew this and so her concern over her looks was not a serious one at that. It just showed their different opinions on the things in life.

“Ah,” Yuri’s smile almost reached her ears. “Now let’s go take a look at the mummy they brought.” They began walking to the other end of the floor where a glint of gold was shining from around the nine hundreds.

“Yuri, it wouldn’t be a mummy.”

“Well, what else would it be then?”

“Probably some old vases or ornaments maybe.” Minkyung suggested. They passed the shelves of books to the end where two rows of computers were placed, a few occupants seated at the machines.  Adjacent to them, two shelves were guarded in glass cabinets. A pair of black shoes with gold stitching sat on the bottom shelf along with a grey worn pot with a stem and a knob as a handle. It looked like a weird hybrid of a tool and a vase.

“What is that?” Yuri glanced at the label next to it. “Found in Buyeo... Ok next.”

“You really do get bored easily.” Minkyung was intently staring at what appeared to be two gold buttons in the shape of teardrops.

“Oh, wow, Minkyung come take a look at this.” Yuri was already down the other end, intrigued by what she saw. Minkyung joined her, wondering what had caught Yuri’s interest. A large gold ornament stood in the cabinet, consisting of a stand that had an intricate blend of swirls going all the way up to the top. The upper part of the item resembled an egg or the bulb of a flower, for sections at the bottom were starting to open up like petals. It was divided in the middle, and on top stood a small creature similar to a bird with its chest puffed out.

“Wow, isn’t that the incense burner the only one of it’s kind?” Yuri briefly turned away from it to peer at the text book next to it. Minkyung read the dark blue font title.

“Ah, so this month’s display is on the Three Kingdoms.” It made sense. Everything in the display was labelled to having been found from one of Three Kingdoms.

“I wonder if there’s anything in it...” Minkyung heard the sound of something sliding.

“What are you doing?” Yuri had slid the glass door open.

“Shhh.” She put a finger to her lips. “I just want to have a look.”

“No, you can’t!” Minkyung protested, but Yuri wouldn’t hear any of it. She reached out with a hand to the ornament, grasping the top.
“Almost there.” It suddenly tipped forward and fell; Yuri lunged for it, her elbow knocking into the book. Minkyung grabbed the nearest item, stopping a vase from falling.

Yuri had half of the burner in one hand. The lid had come off; a grey fine substance was spilt on the floor.

“Yuri what have you done?” Minkyung was next to her on the floor, carefully picking up the lid at its bottom. “What if it’s broken?”

“It looks like it’s alright.” Yuri seemed stunned too by what happened. She placed the burner standing upright. Minkyung saw the ash on the floor.

“Now we have to clean this up,” she sighed. Her hands pressed into the edge of the carpet to shift the ash into a pile.

“Pick up the book,” Yuri told her. “Your hands are cleaner than mine and if they find the book’s fallen then you won’t ruin it at least.”

Minkyung crawled over to where the book had fallen, spine down. She carefully picked it up; the pages were opened up to a section on myths and legends.

“I should really borrow this someday,” Minkyung said as she flicked forward a page. Yuri had finished with the ash collection and placed the lid on the burner.

“Come on, you aren’t meant to read it.” Her friend reached to touch the book, intending to take it from her. A bright light suddenly engulfed the two, swallowing them in its radiance.

A moment later they sat up, rubbing their heads.

“What just happened?” Minkyung murmured. Blinking, the two looked around.

“This isn’t the library,” Yuri stated in shock and disbelief as Minkyung got to her feet. “We’re… Minkyung, where are we?”

“I don’t know.” Minkyung helped her friend up. “Some strange place or world I think.”

“We’re definitely not in Canvas anymore.” This got a raised eyebrow response from Minkyung. “What’s that expression for?”

“You should really work on your English. Its Kansas not Canvas. You said you were good at it, too. Judy Garland would probably be insulted if she heard you mispronounce it.”

“Whatever, Minkyung. We need to find help.” Yuri started down the hill, kicking up dust. “Let’s hope there are some friendly people about.”

“Yeah let’s just hope.” Minkyung trusted that Yuri would be able to do most of the talking in this case. One thing she knew her friend was more than capable of was sweet-talking others.

Carefully they made their way down the hill looking around for the sign of anyone and occasional glances at the placement of their feet.

“Are we in still in Busan?” Minkyung’s head was turning from side to side. “It doesn’t feel like it.”

“Hey look,” Yuri was pointing to some people walking down a path. They frowned as they observed them. “Is today a special holiday or something?”

“It can’t be. Buddha’s birthday isn’t for another four days.”

“But then why are they dressed like that?” They were now following the two men at a distance, interested in the odd garments that they wore: large, long sleeved shirts with trousers at the ankle and black slippers with socks. Their hats were even funnier, large, and black with a huge distance between the brim and the crown tip.

“Shh,” Minkyung had to hush Yuri. “If they see us, then they’ll think we’re stalkers.”

“Oh you’re right.” Eventually the two travellers came to their destination, which was a busy market place. Minkyung and Yuri went to the side, observing from behind a tree.

“Um, Minkyung, this doesn’t look good.” The markets were bustling with life, people of all kinds, young and old; men and women were walking, talking or standing while admiring some of the products the stalls sold.

Like the two men, the crowds were dressed in long items of clothing but with variations of colour, length and accessories. Some of them had the slippers while others were in boots. The women all wore skirts nearly twice the length of the girls’ school skirts, with their shirts tucked in, some in brighter colours than others. A few women had their hair in buns with fancy hair pieces or pins through the buns while others were in braids.

Watching them made Yuri’s face twist in worry. “Crap, oh crap, Minkyung! Where are we? Why the sudden change in dress code? What happened? Where did we go?”

“I think we’re still in Korea,” Minkyung began. “They’re speaking the same language as us but I don’t think we’re in the twenty-first century anymore. Somehow we’ve managed to go back in time.”

Here it is chapter one. It took a while to write this and I also edited it before sharing. So like Sheldon Cooper would say; you’re welcome.

I’ll try not to skimp on important details but also work on character development in this case, anticipate what is to come and I’ll do my best to update once a fortnight at least. Each chapter will be longer than what I normally write so feel fortunate.