12: The Great Escape

It’s hard to believe but, I think I’m beginning to understand that Witch now.

I’ve also come to admit that it was my fault the whole conflict between us happened. I was the one who quickly jumped into conclusions and judged her as a bad woman. Because of that, she began to seek revenge through my journal.

But just because I’ve realized those things doesn’t mean I’ve become soft. Let’s just say I’ve already admitted my own faults, but it’s not like that Witch doesn’t have her own faults as well.

I think the kiss was really just an accident, just like what she said. But what I’m still angry about is…why didn’t she return my journal right away when she still had the chance? Why did she choose to keep it? Was she holding a grudge against me? Did she want to use my journal as a way to blackmail me?

Whatever her reason was, it’s wrong to keep someone else’s journal. It’s even worse to actually read the contents! If she was really a good person, she could have just returned it to the rightful owner.

But…after knowing more about her, the more I think that she seems like the type who wouldn’t have ill-intentions towards anybody, just like what Sungyeol said.

“Aish…why am I thinking too much about this?!”

I unknowingly started banging my head against the wall, earning myself a few stares from the people around the Death Note Shop. I usually go here during the weekends only, but for some reason, I wanted to come here tonight. I don’t even plan on buying anything. I’m just walking around with a blank look on my face.

“I’m telling you. We have a real connection.”

“Can you please stop saying that? It’s creeping me out.”

A couple of voices from the corner suddenly caught my attention. I found myself stepping closer because one voice sounded familiar, even though I wasn’t able to hear it clearly. The other voice belonged to a man, but the girl’s voice sounded like…

“Come on. Just tell me your name, miss.”

“I don’t want to. And please stay away from me.”

I knew it. That voice belonged to the Witch. I don’t remember seeing her around this shop before. I thought only Gaeun liked this kind of place. But the Witch is really here, and she’s currently being harassed by an old man.

I hid behind one of the shelves and observed the whole scenario. I wanted to help out because she looks really uncomfortable and erts really annoy me, but I wanted to see how she would get herself out of that situation.

“Ajusshi…” Pwahaha! She boldly called him ajusshi! “I’m a high school student. If you don’t want to go to jail, please step aside and let me go.”

The ert didn’t falter. He just continued to look at her as if he wanted to eat her alive. He’s really grossing me out now. “The connection between us is real. You even go to this shop! That means you also like dark stuff. I’m a bit of a sadist myself, so I could assure you that life is fun with me.”

The Witch gasped and gave the ert a disgusted look. “Are you serious, ajusshi? Can you even hear yourself talking? You’re of the same age as my father!”

“My dear, age is not an issue to me.” He suddenly placed his hands against the wall and cornered the Witch. “I’m actually young at heart. And I’m quite the charmer.”

Okay. This doesn’t look fun anymore. I don’t want to get involved but I don’t want to witness more of this disgusting act.

“Yah! Stop—“

“OUCHHHHHHH! YOU WENCH!”

My eyes widened when the old man’s body suddenly bumped against mine. I almost fell down from the impact but I managed to stand firm. I pushed his body aside and looked at the Witch, who was wearing a furious look on her face.

Well, this is what happened: The moment I stepped out of my hiding place in order to beat the hell out of the ert, the Witch suddenly kicked him in the…most sensitive part of a man’s body… and followed it up with a huge slap on his face.

“Kim Myung—L-sunbae?!” she asked after finally noticing that I was standing in front of her. “How long have you been here?”

I scratched my head awkwardly with my eyes still wide open due to the shock. This woman is scary. I probably shouldn’t piss her off too much from now on. “I…uh—not that long. Actually, I just happened to pass by around this corner…”

She looked as if she wanted to ask more, but she dismissed the thought and looked at the ert who was squirming and grunting on the ground. “Do you think I’ll go to jail because of this?”

“No, that ert’s the one who should go to jail.” But that kick and slap definitely looked painful.

“Right. But still, he might report me for violence.”

“I’ll definitely report you, !” the ert shouted out while still squirming. “I’m a VIP here, you know!”

I was about to kick him when the Witch suddenly did the honor of stomping on his arm multiple times. It was an amusing sight, to be honest. “Go! *stomp* Ahead! *stomp* ERT!!!”

I hate to admit it, but the fact that she wouldn’t take from anyone is actually cool. Since she was able to entertain me this much, I might as well lend a helping hand. “You know what, we should get the hell out of here before he could report anything. And if he does end up reporting you, I’ll give my uncle a call. He’s a good lawyer,”

“What—wait—“

Before she could protest, I took her hand and dragged her out of the shop. I ran and led her towards a café which was a few blocks away.

I took her to a vacant table and made her sit in front of me. We both took our time to catch our breaths and wipe our sweats.

“Yah—“

I raised my hand in front of her to prevent her from saying anything. “I know it’s weird that I helped you out but just accept it graciously.” I called the waiter who was nearby and made an order. “Two black coffees.”

“Wait, no—“

I raised my hand again. “Can you just stop protesting already? Don’t worry. I’ll pay for it. You won’t owe me anything—“

This time, she’s the one who raised her hand. “Can you just let me finish first? I was just going to say that I don’t like black coffee.” She looked at the waiter who still hasn’t left. “I’ll have a caramel macchiato, please.”

“Oh, so you have a sweet tooth.”

She gave me a glare. “And for someone who likes cute animals and mangoes, it’s quite unexpected that you like black coffee.”

My jaw dropped. “Yah! You should really stop reading my journal!”

She bit her lip and tried to suppress her laughter. I can’t believe this Witch is actually enjoying my misery. “Sorry. Couldn’t help it.”

I leaned back on my seat and crossed my arms. “How much have you read?”

“N-Not much. Just…a few pages?” She laughed awkwardly, which meant she was lying, so I raised my eyebrows at her to make her confess the truth. “Fine. A lot. In fact, I’m almost done reading everything.”

The nerve of this woman! “You—”

“I’m sorry,” the solemn look on her face made me pause. “I was planning to quietly put it back on Sungyeol’s bag, but I just couldn’t get the right timing. Then the incident happened, and I was desperate to defend myself, so I ended up using your journal against you.”

I sighed. “Hmph…well, I guess it couldn’t be helped, since I was at fault, too.” She looked at me with an unbelieving smile, as if she wasn’t convinced that I‘m actually capable of saying these things. “Yah, what’s up with that reaction?”

“Nothing.” She looked down, but her smile never faded. “It’s just…I’m wondering why you always try to act so chic and threatening, when this side of you is actually cooler.”

That straightforward statement left me speechless and made my blood rush to my cheeks. What the hell did she…why is…what even…why am I…what.

“I…I’m sorry!” The Witch suddenly looked as if she snapped back from dreamland. She started fanning her blushed cheeks and took a quick sip of water. “What’s gotten into me all of a sudden…”

I wanted to scold her, or just say something…anything! But I couldn’t find the right words, so we both just fell silent for a while. I started tapping the table for no reason at all and she just kept playing with the tissues on the table. What kind of awkward atmosphere is this?!

“So—“ The Witch ended up dropping the tissues when I spoke out of the blue. “Yah, why are you so tensed?”

“Me? Tensed?” She looked frantic as she bent down to pick the tissues up but they kept slipping out of her hands. “I-I’m not—”

“Don’t pick those up. They’re already dirty.”

“Oh…right.” She straightened back up and took a deep breath. “Whew. So the coffee still hasn’t arrived…”

What’s up with this woman? She looks so shaken up. Was she traumatized by the ert?