Trials of The Good and Evil

CHAPTER TWO: BOOKS OVER LOOKS

Jisoo wanted to hibernate these days. It's been a week since Miss Lee brought up about Jisoo's love life. But it's also been a week since most village boys were trying out for her. "Hello, Miss Kim Jisoo. Flowers for a lovely lady~" Kim Bum the seem-to-be handsomest boy in town.

Jisoo smiled, "Chrysanthemums...lovely they are." She said as she accepted them. The guy just looked at her. Jisoo couldn't help but flinch and gulp at his actions so she decided to change the topic, "Ah...I heard you borrowed a book. The novel, 'Jack and the Cukoo-Clock Heart' is it?"

Kim Bum nodded. "I just finished reading the book." He picked out a medium-sized book from his pocket.

Jisoo widened her eyes in impression. "Hmm~" She hummed, "Could you share me what moral you got?" She tested him. Even if she's a book nerd she won't play smooth with boys. The both walked together through the busy village street.

The boy scratched his head. "I learned...uhm...that love must be chosen and must be our number one priority-"

"Even if it harms us? Even if it kills us?" Jisoo asked. She continued walking while asking the boy. Which made the man completely stupefied. "Can't you answer my question?" She gripped her book tightly and while her grip of the chrysanthemum slowly weakened.

"It's just that...love implies sacrifice." Kim Bum said. "And we'd do everything for someone we love. Right?" He glanced at the girl.

Jisoo thought that for a moment, "But we should always choose ourselves first. I'm not saying that we should be selfish~ But we must love ourselves first before we can love anybody else." She smiled at him.

Kim Bum stopped his tracks and looked at her in awe. Jisoo looked back at him as she hopped closer to inside the Magic Shop Library. She took the book. "I'll return it for you. Thanks for the flowers!" She winked at him as she slammed the door.

Jisoo leaned her back on the wooden door and breathed heavily. She sighed and went to the counter to drop off the borrowed book and the bouquet of chrysanthemums. "Miss Lee!" She berated as she went in a room.

The old woman was calmly sitting down while reading a Shakespeare book, "He seemed nice and charming and brilliant."

"You set him up too!? Even the five boys who have been snooping on me for five days!" Jisoo sighed, "Miss Lee! With that you're doing, the more I'm gonna get scared of getting married!"

"Just try them, sweetie~ It takes time to grow love on someone."

"I don't want to grow love on someone." Jisoo said sternly as she opened a book and sat down a chair.

Miss Lee chuckled, "So? Books over looks? Is that it?" She teased her.

"Definitely and on point Ma'am." She answered sarcastically. "Look I just want to be like...Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling, The Grimms Brothers, or any other history-maker in literature! In short I'd write and read my whole life out than waste my time to look for love. I'm not that of an attention-seeker. Like you said, I'm 18~"

Miss Lee sighed. "You're missing out the beauty of youth. Just like me." She closed the book. "You're like a human version of Princess Belle de Villeneuve~ Always books, books, and books! Though she found love~"

"I am not Belle. And I am definitely not a princess to find her prince. Okay? I am completely happy and self-functioning without any man." Jisoo smiled brightly. "Please tell every boy you've endorsed me to that I'm not interested~"

Miss Lee pouted, "Fine. But before that, please...get me a basket of apples from at the forest."

Jisoo laughed, "Sure a do!" She took the empty basket from the table. "Keep your promise, and I'll keep mine."

"Promise me you'll also find your true love, darling~ It's really important not just for princesses. You don't want to grow old all alone." She winked at Jisoo.

Jisoo smiled at her, "See you later."

The girl walked her way through the forest. The forest wasn't really a place where people were. It was quite and peaceful, at the same time it was mysterious and creepy. No one has ever gone beyond the planted apple trees of the village farmers.

As soon as she reached the green area, she carefully chose the tree with the most nutrient-looking and healthy-looking apples. Her white dress, getting muddy from her wandering around the brown soil and tall trees.

Until not from a very far tree, she felt like she saw the one. "Finally." She muttered and plucked apples from it. The apples didn't seem to look just like the ordinary apples. They were luscious red as blood and they had the perfect structure of an apple. Jisoo smiled at her luck.

She moved her way to find more apples to fill out the basket. But as soon as she got to the other side of the tree, it was the complete opposite of the other half. "How uncanny~" She thought out loud.

She backed a few steps away from the tree and saw it in whole. One was healthy and filled with harvests, while the other was weak and had rotten apples. "Don't they get the same nutrients from the same roots?" She asked herself and picked up her basket of apples.

As she was about to turn around, it made a crackling sound. She looked back and saw the trunk of the tree opening. "What-" She gasped as she went closer. The opening had a glorious and blinding glow. It was like a portal.

Jisoo reached her hand to it, feeling the fairy pixie dust-looking dust. "Amazing~" She smiled in awe. But then, it wasn't a magical fairy pixie dust. It was her fading and being brought in the portal. "Wait a minute- Hey-" She could feel the rest of her soul getting pierced into pieces and entering the bright and holy-looking rabbit hole. Just like in fairytales.

Her mind blacked out until she opened her eyes once again to see herself in another world. "Where am I?" She muttered to herself as her body was forming whole again.

She rubbed her eyes and saw two castles. One was immaculate white, shining through it's golden details and was definitely the castles of the royals. While the other was dark black, evil-looking, and looked like the villains' fortress.

Jisoo noticed a lady in a white cloak. Approaching her, "Good Alpha Princess Kim Jisoo. And welcome to your fairytale."