Lydia POV

“Wizard’s Index… Warlock’s Index… Witches Index…” I frowned at the bookshelf. This was a lot harder than I had thought. 

I had stayed up the entire night prying through the book Donghae gave me. It really wasn’t much of a help other than listing off all the different types of ‘super natural beings’. After that I went to the computer, the internet sure had a lot more information. In fact there was so much that you couldn’t distinguish whether or not it was accurate. So lastly I searched up a bunch of Wicca Stores and filtered through them. My filtering led me here. 

According to many websites and the one sign on the door, this was Seoul’s oldest Witchcraft supplier. Rumour had it that the store was open one hundred years ago. On the first day of its opening there was a thunderstorm. The day after, all the farmers discovered that their crops were completely destroyed and the animals were gone leaving behind only the ruined barns. From then on weird things had been happening on this street. Children who disobeyed their parents or threw tantrums would get fevers the next day. The mild fevers would then turn severe. It got so bad that eventually the flu disabled the child from using one of their five senses. 

The people complained to the government and the municipal was infuriated. They blamed it all on the unfortunate events of the opening of the witch craft store. However since there was no proof the store continued to stand and somehow magically was able to generate enough revenue to last till now. 

After a bit of browsing on the first floor I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I went up the creaky wooden stairs. Right when I reached the top a black shadow brushed past me and an old book slipped from their arm landing with a loud "thud". 

I picked up the book and ran my hand down the bamboo weaved spine. It was the first time I’ve seen a book this ancient. Looking up, I spotted its owner just out about to step outside. 

“Wait!” I descended from the stairs.

“You dropped this,” I held up the book to the man who just turned back to look at me. 

He was dressed in a long black drench coat accompanied with a top hat and a thick scarf that hid most of his face. The shiny black dress shoes stole attention as well as the unique looking brooch attached to the front of his jacket, the only colorful tint to his outfit.  Judging by the design the pin was probably the same age as the book. 

“Oh that isn’t mine” he smiled showing a row of perfect teeth. 

“I-…” I could swear that it had dropped from his jacket, “I’m sorry,” I bowed, “I just thought…” 

The man reached over and read the title, “Manual to Warlocks, Spirits, Demons, and the Unknown Part 2.” 

The title sounded painfully familiar but before I could recall why the stranger slipped the book back into my palms. 

“It looks like you’re interested in the supernatural world – a complicated but beautiful world, this book is a good place to start,” there was a mischievous glint in the man’s eyes but before I could say anything else he was already gone. 

Narrator POV

“MARK!” 

The music paused and their practice was cut short from their manager’s interruption. The other members slid onto the floor out of exhaustion as Mark ran over. 

“What’s up hyungnim?” Mark asked with beads of sweat on his forehead. 

“Your phone is ringing,” his manager handed him the device. 

Mark stared at the flashing screen with a familiar girl smiling while making the peace sign. 

He turned his phone off and rejoined his other members. 

“Who was it?” Bambam asked out of curiosity. 

“Nobody,” Mark mumbled before settling down beside Youngjae who passed him a bottle of water. 

Junior, who was monitoring their previous dance practice, looked up from the screen, “Can we resume then?” he waved the guys over, “This part here,”and pointed at the monitor, “We’re not in sync, Youngjae make your arms straighter, Jackson your rhythm is off, Bambam your foot work is sloppy, and Mark are you doing the chicken dance?” 

Everybody hovered over the computer as Junior hit the replay button. Sure enough, not only was Mark off beat and was completely ignoring the steps, he had his arms flailed in every direction possible. 

“It’s more like the chicken trying to run away while being slaughtered dance,” Jackson chortled.

Mark rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed, “S-Sorry. I was… I was…” 

The others stared at him as he tried to come up with an explanation. 

What was he doing? Mark wondered that himself. Ever since he came back from the zoo he’s been feeling queasy. Last night he couldn’t sleep at all, usually he’d blame it on Jackson’s snoring but this time he knew that wasn’t the reason. The scene of the cub chasing after Haru replayed in his head. Turning and tossing, Haru’s cries for her dad echoed in his ears. Sudden warmth would then explode in his chest at random times. Mark wondered if he had heart problems. 

“Uncle JB!” 

A shout from the door way stole everybody’s attention. In a buttoned up beige trench coat, black jeans, and Nike sneakers, a little girl happily skipped into the room. Her two pig tails bounced every time she moved. 

“Haru!” Bambam cheered