Seo Yuna was alive. And she was with the AOE. It sounded insane, and Seolhyun went through every stage of denial as she made her way to Diner Dash, but it was definitely her. She paced the diner until Jimin showed up, stunned by what this could mean.

Jimin took one look at her and frowned. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I think I have.” Seolhyun’s hands opened and closed at her sides. “I think I saw a friend of mine today.”

“Uhm, and?”

It felt wrong telling Jimin about this, but she just needed to tell someone. “She was my roommate. And Hyejeong and Mina’s neighbor. She, and another good friend of mine, were supposedly... dead.”

“Well... that sounds creepy, Seolhyun.”

“It does.”

Jimin shrugged and then shifted her attention to the waitress taking their orders. Just in time, Seolhyun rushed to grab her phone. She had to text Hyejeong anyway.

[Where are u tonite? Can i come over?]

She waited five minutes before she texted Hyejeong again.

[This is important!!!]

Another five minutes went by, and Seolhyun was starting to feel like she was one of those psychotic girlfriends who texted the crap out of them until they responded. Damn Shin Hyejeong.

As the meals arrived, Seolhyun and Jimin had so many random, absurd topics of conversation. Seolhyun laughed. A lot. They took their time eating. With Jimin, Seolhyun wasn’t thinking about aliens from outer space or the looming threat of the AOE or Kloom. It was the most relaxing hour she had spent in a long time.

Toward the end, Jimin was ripping a napkin into tiny pieces while she grinned at Seolhyun. “So, you like reading?”

Surprised, Seolhyun nodded and figured she would get her geekish out of the way. “Yeah, I love books.” She paused. “How did you know?”

Jimin leaned forward and whispered, “I just know, kind of a nerdy too. Looking up online, I found your old blog. I like how you write your reviews for books. Very witty. And you’re passionate about it.”

Flattered and completely won over by the fact Jimin actually visit her dusty blog, Seolhyun smiled. “Thank you. Blogging was my kind of hobby, long time ago. Most people don’t get it.”

“Oh, I totally do! I used to blog about fashion.”

“Really?”

Jimin nodded. “Yep, I miss blogging, as the whole connecting with people all around the world that shared the same passion. It’s a pretty awesome community!”

This girl is perfect. She didn’t make fun of Seolhyun like Hyejeong had over the whole geeky thing. Cool points for Jimin.

Seolhyun took a sip of her drink as she glanced out the window. Dark, thick clouds blanketed the sky. “When I first saw you, I had you hunched for a fashionista. You have that look.”

“What kind of look is that?”

“You just have the look going on. The hair, the outfit. It’s very cute.”

“Wait, cute?” Jimin raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, it’s pretty hot. Badass.”

Jimin grinned. “I like the sound of that.”

She had one of those personalities, much like Mina, where Seolhyun couldn’t help but feel comfortable around her.

When they left the diner close to the evening, Seolhyun couldn’t believe how much time had passed. The wind whipped at her hair, but she was still buzzing too much from her afternoon with Jimin to care about the fact she hadn’t bought a jacket yet.

Jimin nudged her with her elbow. “Hey, Seolhyun, I’m glad you came with me.”

“So am I.” Seolhyun twirled her car keys.

“I don’t normally put myself out there.” Jimin leaned against the hood of her own car, crossing her ankles booted. “You know, just asking like that in front of an entire table of strangers.”

Brisk wind cooled Seolhyun’s warm cheeks. “You seemed pretty confident.”

“I am, when I want something.”

Tiptoeing, she cutely moved to stand in front of Seolhyun. Oh God. Was she going to kiss her? Seolhyun totally loved the easy afternoon they had just spent, but, well... She didn’t know what was going on with Hyejeong, if anything really was going on, but she knew it wasn’t fair to pretend she was completely free.

She had feelings for Hyejeong, but she just wasn’t sure what they meant.

Jimin reached toward her, and Seolhyun froze.

Then above her, the branches shook and groaned under the force of the wind.

There was a loud crack, and Seolhyun’s head jerked up. One of the thick branches broke. Panic leaped into as it spiraled down to where Jimin stood. There was no way she could move fast enough, and the size of the branch promised major damage.

Static rushed over Seolhyun’s skin, crackling between the layers of her clothing. She felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck raise. Heart racing, she shot forward and she thought she screamed ‘Stop!’, but it was only in her head.

And the branch stopped...

... in midair, suspended by nothing.

The branch hung there, hovering as if it were tethered by an invisible string. Seolhyun’s breath chucked in her chest, not quite making it out. She stopped the branch, she did that. Panic and power rushed through her, leaving her dizzy.

Jimin was staring at her, her bright eyes wide with what? Fear? Excitement? She stepped to the side and lifted her gaze. The rush of power left Seolhyun at once. The heavy branch crashed, cracking the pavement like it would’ve done to Jimin’s skull.

“Wow...” Jimin covered with both hands. “That would’ve killed me...”

Seolhyun swallowed, unable to speak. Shock rippled through her, lapping at her sides. She felt and recognized the warmth tingling across the nape of her neck, but she couldn’t move. Sharp, slicing pain erupted behind her eyes and she winced. This little incident had sapped her of energy, and her head... it throbbed something fierce, a kind of scary pain that signaled something was very wrong.

Oh, God, what was it?

“Seolhyun... it’s okay,” Jimin said, stepping forward as her eyes darted behind Seolhyun.

A warm, strong hand curled around her arm. “Seolhyun.”

She gasped at the sound of Hyejeong’s voice. Turning to her, Seolhyun lowered her head, shielding her face with her hair. “Hyejeong,” she whispered.

“Is she okay?” Jimin asked, sounding worried. “The branch–”

“Yes. She’s fine. The falling branch scared her.” Each word sounded like Hyejeong spoke it through gritted teeth. “That’s all.”

“But–”

“See you later.” Hyejeong started walking, taking Seolhyun along with her. “Are you okay?”

Seolhyun nodded, staring straight ahead. Everything seemed too bright for a cloudy day. Too real. The whole afternoon had been perfect. Normal. And she’d ruined it. When she didn’t answer, Hyejeong took her keys from her numb fingers and opened the passenger door.

Jimin called out her name, but Seolhyun couldn’t bring herself to look at her. She had no idea what she must be thinking, but she knew it couldn’t be good.

“Get in,” Hyejeong said almost gently.

For once, Seolhyun obeyed without question. When Hyejeong climbed in on the driver’s side and moved the seat back, Seolhyun snapped out of it. “How... how are you here?”

Hyejeong didn’t look at her as she turned the ignition and pulled out of the parking space. “I was driving around. I’ll have Yonghwa get my car.”

Turning in her seat, Seolhyun saw Jimin by her car. She was still standing there. “Hyejeong... I...”

“You’ll pretend like nothing happened. If she brings it up, you’ll tell her that she moved out of the way. If she even suggests that you... that you stopped that branch, you laugh it off. Do you understand me?”

Close to tears, Seolhyun nodded.

Silence ticked away the minutes. Halfway home, the headache eased up and Seolhyun felt almost normal. Neither of them spoke until Hyejeong pulled into the driveway of Seolhyun’s house.

She yanked the keys from the ignition and sat back. She faced Seolhyun, eyes sheltered by a long wave of hair. “We need to talk. And you need to be honest with me. You don’t seem surprised you just did that.”

Seolhyun nodded again. Hyejeong was furious, and she couldn’t blame her. Seolhyun had possibly exposed them all to a human, a human who could go to the press, who could talk at the whole campus, and who could catch the attention of the AOE. They’d find out that the Felix had special abilities. They’d learn about her.

They went inside Seolhyun’s empty house. The central air was blowing heat from the vents, but Seolhyun was shivering uncontrollably as she sat on the recliner. “I was planning on telling you.”

“You were?” Hyejeong stood in front of her, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. “When, exactly? Before or after you did something that puts you at risk?”

Seolhyun flinched. “I didn’t plan on this happening! All I wanted was to have a normal afternoon with her–”

“With her?” Hyejeong spat, eyes flaring an intense black.

“Yes, with her, a normal girl!” Why did that sound so surprising? Seolhyun took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. But Jimin asked me to grab something to eat with her and I just wanted one freaking afternoon with someone like me.”

Hyejeong’s frown went so deep that Seolhyun thought her face would crack. “You have friends who are normal, Seolhyun.”

“It’s not the same thing!”

For a second, Hyejeong’s eyes widened and Seolhyun would swear there was a flicker of pain in them, but then it was gone. “Tell me what’s been happening.”

Guilt shot through Seolhyun, pulling it behind in deep. “I think I did get alien magic, because I’ve been moving things... without touching them. Today, I opened the door to Mr. Lee’s classroom without touching it.”

“How often has this been happening?”

“On and off for these past few days. The first time it was my locker door, but I thought it was a coincidence, so I didn’t say anything. Then I thought about wanting a cup of coffee, and the cup flew out of the cabinet and the coffee started pouring itself in the machine. The shower turned itself on, doors opened, and a couple of times, clothes flew from my closet.” Seolhyun sighed. “My room was a mess.”

A snicker escaped from Hyejeong. “Nice.”

Seolhyun’s hands balled into fists. “How can you think this is funny? Look at what happened today! I didn’t mean to stop the branch! I mean, I didn’t want it to hit Jimin, but I didn’t consciously stop the damn thing. The whole fading-my-trace thing? It changed me, Hyejeong. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I couldn’t move things before. And I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I get a splitting headache and feel exhausted afterward. What if I’m dying or something?”

Hyejeong blinked and was suddenly beside her, sitting on the arm of