Rena Moon

The marketplace was filled with street side shops and activities. Yuna and her parents had a difficult time trying to get through the crowd. Many of them were pushing and shoving to get to their destinations. They kept getting stopped by street vendors that wanted to sell them various goods. Yuna’s parents looked down at their daughter that held their hand tightly.

Yuna had a scowl on her face that revealed her discontent. She didn’t look so happy to be here. Junho became worried for his daughter. What if she doesn’t like the marketplace? How could he have been so stupid to bring his daughter to the marketplace? He should have taken her to the sea like he originally planned. He only wanted to let her have a fun day, but it turns out she’s still too young to go to the marketplace.

Sena on the other hand, knew why Yuna had a scowl on her face. It was because she didn’t enjoy being in crowded places. It was easy to get lost and there were a lot of swindlers and thieves here. Initially, Sena and Junho wanted to take their daughter to the auction house, but immediately decided against it. They didn’t want their daughter in a dangerous place as the auction house.

They chose to go to the stalls because it seemed more appropriate for a kid. There were cotton candy stalls and stalls that contained jewelry, dolls, and clothes. They just didn’t expect that the marketplace would be so busy.

Sena didn’t usually visit the marketplace because she didn’t need to go personally. She had servants and personal designers that would do all the work for her. The jewelers were all happy to come to the general’s household to sell their goods directly. Junho wasn’t much different. He was always preoccupied with his job, that he had no time to even think about the marketplace.

Junho asked, “Yuna, are you having fun?” Yuna didn’t want her father to think that she wasn’t having a good time, so she smiled back at him. “I’m having a lot of fun. Let’s go over there.” She pointed at the jewelry shop not too far from them. Junho’s frown immediately changed into a smile when he noticed his daughter wasn’t as upset as he thought she was.

It was hard acting like a kid when she had a mind that was old. She found herself with a scowl on her face when she should be looking like a happy kid. She didn’t know much about the marketplace in her earlier years, but she was pretty familiar with how the marketplace worked.

There were people from all walks of life that came to the Capital of Guwon to shop for treasures. Guwon’s marketplaces were known to be famous for its auction houses and performances on the streets. The shops were a hit or miss when it came to finding valuable goods.

The street side shops contained cheap products that targeted commoners. Majority of the people with high statuses weren’t found at these shops. They usually spent their time in auction houses and restaurants. The great thing about these shops were that sometimes there were rare products that were valued at so much more than it looked.

There were a countless number of treasures that were hidden in these shops. It was easy to overlook these products because of their old and dusty appearances. Yuna had discovered this fact too late. She learned that Haemi had came across an object that was out of this world. She was shopping at the marketplace when she discovered a beautiful jade pendant that was shaped like a lotus.

This pendant didn’t look like much, but it was known as the rare lotus jade pendant. This pendant was known to be a mysterious object from the gods that gave the owner good luck and beauty that could turn the world upside down. Yuna didn’t think much of it in her past, but she later learned to regret it. Haemi was able to bewitch multiple men into being her personal slave without doing much.

Yuna wasn’t very superstitious, but something was very odd about that pendant. It would always glow whenever Haemi spoke to Minho. It was unusual that Minho would respond to her dully almost as if she were hypnotizing him. Yuna discovered that the pendant she carried was a mysterious pendant that originated from the Miyon region.

The only information she had about the country of Miyon was that it was going to war with the country of Guwon in 7 years. She didn’t get to find out much about the country of Miyon because she died soon after the war began. Yuna was determined to find the pendant to destroy it at all cost.

Yuna didn’t need that sort of object that could manipulate people. She wasn’t so adamant on finding men to do her work. She would rather work hard to get what she wanted without the help of a man. If she could find that object, she could definitely get rid of that cursed pendant.

While looking through the pendants in their selection, Yuna came across a dirty black jade that resembled a lotus. She immediately grabbed the pendant and asked the shop vendor, “How much are you selling this pendant for?” He observed the pendant with a discerning eye and at the rich looking girl that stood before him. He really wanted to sell it to her for a high price, but he knew that the girl had a powerful family that was with her.

Her father and mother looked to be someone of high status. It wouldn’t be too good for him if they were upset. He decided to sell the pendant for 10% more than what he was originally going to sell it for. It didn’t look like he would be losing out much if he got rid of that old pendant. It wasn’t valuable and most of the customers he had thus far had complained about it. He answered, “I’ll give it to you for 10 silvers. How’s that?”

Yuna didn’t object, “Ok, Let me ask my dad if that’s ok.” The shop vendor began breaking out into a cold sweat. Her father was very tall and muscular. He had a grim expression and a deathly aura that made him shiver. The little girl pulled his long sleeves towards the shopkeeper. She looked up at her cold father with an adorable expression. She puffed up her cheeks and begged, “Dad, can you buy me this?”

She showed him the dirty pendant. He was disgusted by the product that dirtied his poor little daughter’s hands. He instantly glared at the shopkeeper. “Why do you have something so dirty in your shop? You got my daughter’s hands all dirty.” The shopkeeper could feel his legs grow weak from fright. He tried to take the pendant away from the girl, but she wouldn’t let go.

Yuna yanked the pendant away from the shopkeeper and began pouting at her father. “I don’t like anything else in this shop, but this pendant.” The father was about to disapprove of her decision, but his wife stopped him before he could. Yuna’s mother took the pendant and began observing it closely.

Sena had a knack for telling how valuable an object could be despite its appearance. She wondered if her daughter had a similar talent. The jade pendant in her hands felt light and smooth. She didn’t want to reveal its true value in front of the shopkeeper, so she began convincing Junho into buying it. “Honey, lets just get Yuna this pendant. We were too busy on her 12th birthday, we weren’t able to get her a gift. Isn’t that right, Yuna?”

Yuna instantly nodded her head and pouted at her father. Junho had no choice but to let Yuna keep the dirty pendant. He was so ashamed to gift her something so cheap and dirty. He decided to take her to the auction house instead next time. Junho told the shopkeeper, “How much are you selling it for?”

The shopkeeper was quick at reading the situation and knew that 10 silver coins was too much to ask for. If he told him 10 silver coins, he was sure to get beat up by her father for scamming them. He immediately lowered the price significantly. “Since this pendant is so old and worn out, I’ll just ask that you pay 1 silver coin.”

Junho reached in his sleeve for his pouch and took out one silver coin and tossed it to the shopkeeper. He caught the coin and bowed to thank the customers. As soon as they left the shop, Sena took the pendant from Junho and wiped off the dirt on the surface of the jade. The pendant was a pearl white that sparkled in the sunlight. It was obviously no ordinary pendant. It glowed brightly and an unusual aura could be felt within the jade.

Sena showed the pendant to Junho, in hopes that he would understand how valuable this pendant was. Junho was amazed by how much it changed just by cleaning it. It looked brand new and there was a weird energy coming from the pendant. He was sensitive to different energies because he was proficient in martial arts. He was able to detect things quicker with his ability.

Why hadn’t he noticed it earlier? It seems that Yuna is not much different from Sena. She was able to tell the value of an object immediately like her mother could. Junho patted Yuna’s head and asked, “Did you know that this pendant was worth more?” Yuna shook her head, “No, I didn’t. I just like how it looks.”



Yuna didn’t want her father to know the real purpose of why she needed that pendant. It was easy to fool her father, but it wasn’t so easy to fool her mother. Her mother had a stern look on her face as she watched Yuna carefully. Sena questioned her sternly, “Why did you pick this pendant? You know something about this pendant, don’t you? You can’t fool me.”

Sena knew that this object originated from the Miyon country. Most of the objects that came from Miyon had a strange aura that influenced its surroundings. Most people didn’t want to call it magic because there was something more sinister behind the scenes. Sena didn’t know much about the country of Miyon, but she knew that there wasn’t anything good that came out of that country.

There were always cases of people missing and odd occurrences when it involved the people of Miyon. Sena didn’t want Yuna to know anything about that country. Miyon was an extremely dangerous place for foreigners. It was off limits to all Guwon citizens.



Yuna felt cold sweat dripping down her back as she thought of her response, “M…Mom, I read about this pendant in a book. Its just a pendant that can bring good luck to its owner. I just wanted it so that our family could have good luck in the future. Please don’t be mad.”

Sena decided to trust her daughter this time. It didn’t seem like Yuna knew much about Miyon and its citizens. It would be trouble if Yuna were to ever get involved with them. She didn’t know what to do if her daughter were to be in danger.