Yin Su finds a small advertisement stuck to the doorframe at home: “Card Game: Spacetime Summoner.”
“Recruiting players for a closed beta. No limit on the number of applicants. Thrilling gameplay. Salary to be discussed later. Great benefits: work one day, then take five days off. Flexible schedule, depending on your abilities. Accommodation provided, meals not included.
“Kind boss, few words, won’t meddle. Once you’re here, make yourself at home and do things your way!”
Yin Su scoffs. What a load of garbage. They think they can con this old lady? A flexible schedule based on your abilities? So if I finish the job in a day, I get five days off, but if I can’t finish, I have to work forever without a break? She thinks only an idiot would take the job. But it never occurs to her that whether she goes or not isn’t up to her.
Serious version: Warm blood trickles down Yin Su’s face. The room is silent. On the floor is the mark of a black square A, like graffiti, or perhaps some mysterious sigil, drawing people in. Playing cards of every color are scattered across the floor. Yin Su sits there, eyes wide, utterly exhausted. The one thing that keeps her going is that she has to get home.
The door opens. A man walks in, backlit. All Yin Su can make out is that he is tall and slender, with neat short hair and a trench coat. Chilled air clings to him as he gently embraces her. In an instant, the two of them vanish in a shower of starlight.
They save each other. They’ve both suffered plenty. The story isn’t perfect, but neither is it full of saintly, innocent heroines or foolish, sugary sweet characters. Everyone simply has something they’re determined to hold on to.
Most of what I don’t know comes from research. Please feel free to point out any mistakes.
