Part 2: The Doors to Another World

The next morning arrived in a blur.

Young Ju barely slept, her mind haunted by the figure in the cloak and the silver key, now hidden deep in her backpack. Every time she touched it, it pulsed faintly, as if reminding her of the promise she had been given.

The day of the school trip came faster than she expected — a countryside park visit with all the students, including the ones who once called her their friends… the ones who had pushed her into the pit of betrayal.

The bus ride was loud with laughter, chatter, and whispers. Young Ju sat by the window, arms folded, gazing at the rolling green fields outside. Her classmates glanced her way occasionally, some smirking, others whispering just loud enough for her to hear.

“Seriously… she’s still wearing that same ugly sweater?” one girl snickered behind her hand.

“Yeah… and that hair! Always so boring. I don’t know why anyone ever liked her,” another added, rolling her eyes.

Jae Min, pretending nothing had happened, leaned close to her ex-best friend and whispered something that made both of them giggle.

Young Ju’s fingers tightened around the key. This time, their words didn’t sting. She wasn’t here for them anymore.

As the bus reached the green hills, students scattered across the picnic spot. Some posed for selfies, others tossed a ball, and a few lounged under the sun, laughing at inside jokes. Young Ju stayed still, sensing something in the air — a faint hum in her ears, soft and low, like a bell only she could hear.

Dong… dong… dong…

Her heart quickened. She scanned the area, and then — she saw it.

Behind a lonely tree at the forest’s edge, floating steps shimmered like mist and shadow, rising upward into the clouds.

“Now’s my chance… to run away,” she thought.

Without hesitation, she dashed. Past the groups of laughing students, past Jae Min and her former best friend, who were now flaunting their perfect couple act. They barely noticed her until she had almost reached the invisible stairs.

“What the hell is she doing?!” Jae Min shouted, stumbling forward.

“Wait… is she… flying?” her ex-best friend gasped, her jaw dropping.

“She’s floating in the air!!” another student screamed, pointing.

“Yo, did she just… cheat somehow? This has to be a trick!” someone yelled, their face pale with confusion.

The principal, red-faced and flustered, shouted after her. “HEY! Kim Young Ju! Get down now or you’ll be in detention!”

But Young Ju didn’t stop. She climbed higher and higher, her long black hair streaming behind her, her eyes locked on the swirling dark red portal above the sky.

“Stop her! She can’t just—” Jae Min began, but no one could reach her.

With one deep breath, Young Ju leapt into the magical door, vanishing into a whirl of light and shadow.

Silence fell over the field.

“Where… did she go?” one girl whispered, her voice shaking.

“Was that… a portal?” another muttered, eyes wide with fear.

“Did Young Ju just… disappear?” someone else finally said, a note of awe creeping into their disbelief.

But Young Ju?

She was no longer in their world. She had stepped into something far greater — a realm where demons ruled, shadows whispered secrets, and magic burned across the skies like fire.

The Demon Realm had been waiting.

And she had just arrived.

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