Excerpt of new Young Adult Fiction<\/p>\n

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From chapter fourteen of Lia Park and the Missing Jewel. Used with permission from Aladdin: an imprint of Simon & Schusters Children’s Publishing<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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            \u201cGot something!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joon walked over and sat down next to me. I pushed against one end of the brick and the other side popped out just a little. \u201cHelp me pull this out.\u201d He grabbed the brick and yanked it out. I stuck my hand inside and fished out a piece of paper. \u201cWhat does it say?\u201d I read out loud, \u201c\u2018Like your closet \/ In front \/ <Dokkaebi Bangmangi>\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does it mean? Do you get it?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 I waved my hand at him to be quiet so I could think. Like my closet? I had clothes in there. Some boxes. And then my secret IMA closet. That must be it! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joon stood with his hands on his hips and stared up at the window. \u201cI still think this is our best shot in.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWill you just wait a second? I almost cracked it.\u201d Now for the second part. That was easy. Stand in front. And the third? Had no idea what that was about. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you have so far?\u201d Joon asked. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOkay. So we are looking for a secret door, and it\u2019s in front,\u201d I said. \u201cThe third part, I\u2019m not sure.\u201d \u201cThe last part seems kind of important, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d Joon asked as he reread the clue. \u201cWhat do you remember from \u2018Dokkaebi Bangmangi\u2019?\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was one of the many Korean folktales my parents used to read to me. This one was about a woodcutter who was gathering acorns for his family when he came across a group of dokkaebi, also known as goblins. He saw them do magic with a bangmangi, which was basically a magic club. The woodcutter got so hungry, he ate one acorn, and the noise scared the dokkaebi away. But they left behind the bangmangi, which he took home and used for good. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what? There was a song. A special one that the dokkaebi sang when using the bangmangi,\u201d I said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow that you brought it up, I can almost hear the tune in my head,\u201d Joon said. I thought back for a moment and remembered that after reading the book, I would play a game with my parents. They\u2019d hand me a rolled-up piece of newspaper, and I\u2019d swing it around, pretending it was a magical bat. But my memories ended there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 \u201cWe need to hurry up. The tours are going to start soon,\u201d Joon said. I really wanted to get inside, but where would I begin? Without the third part, it would be impossible to find the next clue. But maybe focusing on the first two parts would jog my memory. I stood in front of the structure, and no matter how hard I stared at it, no door appeared. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you should use your magic,\u201d he whispered to me. I stared at him. Was he joking? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUh. Negative. No way.\u201d Clearly, I couldn\u2019t control my powers yet. What if I accidentally hurt him and he couldn\u2019t heal? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As if he knew what I was thinking Joon said, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to worry about injuring me.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I smiled weakly. But I still felt uneasy about using magic again. So much could go wrong.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

            \u201cJust think about it, okay?\u201d He paused and then added, \u201cIt\u2019s the only way if we want to save your parents.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fair point. Then there was one other big reason I couldn\u2019t possibly use magic. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you hear Halmoni? If I do, the shadows will find me.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo what? It\u2019s not like Gaya doesn\u2019t know what we\u2019re up to.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That was true. She pretty much gave me her blessing to go find this jewel. But the problem was I only knew two spells. Although there seemed to be a lot of variations to them. There wasn\u2019t enough time to learn a new one right now. I\u2019d have to make do with the ones I knew. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was made for you. Only you can do it, and I\u2019m sure your parents knew you\u2019d be up to the task. They could\u2019ve kept all this secret, but they didn\u2019t.\u201d Joon held my shoulders firmly and looked me in the eye. \u201cI believe in you, Lia.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but laugh. He looked so serious. \u201cThanks for the pep talk.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Feeling encouraged, I inhaled the crisp morning air and pictured Umma and Appa in hopes of centering my thoughts. But I couldn\u2019t get the image of them bound up out of my head. I needed to find my happy place, because my heart was pounding against my chest and I couldn\u2019t concentrate. I thought about our Saturday family movie nights and how Umma let me put extra butter on my popcorn. My hands would get all greasy from the butter, and I would lick them while my parents fake-gasped in horror. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here goes. I thought about moving bricks around to form a larger opening and chanted, \u201cIdong.\u201d And just for good measure I added, \u201cUmjigyeora.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Move, bricks. Move<\/i>! Nothing budged. I focused harder on the structure and chanted. A loud crumbling sound filled the air. The bricks from the top of the structure crashed to the ground one by one. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUndo whatever you just did!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I stopped chanting and the bricks stopped falling. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He looked at his watch. \u201cIt\u2019s eight forty-five! The park opens at nine. You need to think of something quick.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe the entrance was hidden somewhere in the grass, like a trapdoor. I pictured the grass parting and chanted again, \u201cUmjigyeora.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Move. Please move<\/i>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joon gasped and shook my arm. \u201cLook!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The grass swayed as if blowing in the wind, except there wasn\u2019t even the slightest breeze today. I covered my mouth and stepped back to get a better look. The grass stopped moving. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKeep doing what you just did. You can\u2019t stop.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I really hoped this was the right spell, but there was only one way to find out. \u201cUmjigyeora.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s working again!\u201d Joon yelled. \u201cKeep going!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As I chanted, the grass around the structure rustled until it began to part, revealing the soil underneath. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joon ran over and sifted through the soil with his fingers. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing here.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI need the last clue. I can\u2019t do it without it.\u201d I racked my brain for the words to the childhood song about the magical bat. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs this it?\u201d He hummed a tune. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGot it!\u201d I shouted. \u201cGeum nawara ttukttak! Eun nawara ttukttak!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now I remembered. I had thought it was silly but oh so fun to dance and shout, \u201cGold, appear! Silver, appear!\u201d Of course, I didn\u2019t have magic back then, so nothing happened. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I stood in front of the structure and pictured a door opening\u2014just like my secret IMA closet door that disappeared\u2014and chanted, \u201cGeum nawara ttukttak! Eun nawara ttukttak!\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A row of bricks along the base floated out in front of me. Then another row on top of that. And then another. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I cringed and waited for the structure to collapse, but it stood firm. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joon gasped and got down on the ground and peeked inside. I continued to chant and jumped up and down. It was working. I had done something right. The bricks floated in midair, leaving a hole in the structure just big enough for us to slip through. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the distance we heard whistles and a man shouting, \u201cHey! Get away from there!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 I turned around and saw a group of people and a police officer racing toward us. A man in glasses yelled, \u201cSomeone stop them! This tower is a national treasure.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There was only one thing to do now. Go inside this hole. I needed to trust this was what my parents had intended to happen.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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