The Hwang Shopping Center was more of an outdoor mall, the close proximity of the streets making all of the stores seemingly more connected than they actually were.

 

Chae adored the bustle of the crowd as it moved along, the loud chatter of strangers buzzing around her as background noise. It was a stark contrast from the quiet that settled around her home.

 

She lingered on the fringes of the crowd, weaving along the sides close to the shops and dodging people when they failed to notice her until they nearly stepped on her toes. After years of practice, she made her way down the street quickly, moving with the flow of foot traffic.

 

Chae scanned the shop windows for any indications of job openings and occasionally stopped to say hello to a few of the store owners. She frequented the restaurants around the center often enough to be recognized, and left more than one little place with a bag of treats from some of the people who ran them. A few of the bags she held onto carefully, tucked away in her bag for later. Hongbin and Wonshik might like them and decide to come around the West Side if they found a restaurant worth the trip.

 

(If they wanted to hang out with her.)

 

Her mind tried to wander onto the subject of her new friends (Hongbin certainly was, but Wonshik was more of an uncertainty) but was quickly distracted by a sparkle of blue light that flashed across her eyes.

 

She blinked and tried to find the source, a light like that unusual.

 

Across the street was a shop, tucked into one of the streets that turned into a dead end and looked less crowded than the one that Chae stood on. An antique store and a flower shop sat on either side, each having a classier and average appearance for their market. The building between them, however, stood out.

 

All three of the buildings were made of the same, classic red brick, but the middle shop looked more weather-beaten, the bright red of the brick dirtied with age and wear. The front window was darkened despite the open sign hanging on the glass door, and several jeweled decorations were in the window on display, glittering in the afternoon sunlight and bringing in some light where there was little else.

 

One particular decoration, a woven wall display of some sort, winked it's blue light at her again, the blue crystals casting that pretty light on Chae and the street below.

 

A poster with HELP WANTED printed across in bold letters sat directly beneath it.

 

It seemed like a sign – in more ways than one.

 

Without hesitation, she headed across the street, unhindered by cars as few actually entered the shopping center. It was always too crowded with people to get anywhere fast in a car, so many people parked in the spaces around the shops on the edges of the space.

 

Chae reached the shop and paused a moment, peering in through the glass in hopes of getting an idea of what was sold there. The name painted across the window gave her no hint.

 

MARI'S EMPORIUM

 

How specific.

 

Chae frowned at the sign before a movement behind the glass startled her. A young man, not much older than herself, was watching her like he had nothing better to do.

 

Her ears warmed up and she stepped away from the window to actually head inside.

 

There were no customers. Perhaps the guy really did not have anything better to do.

 

It was cool inside, the building naturally shaded by the surrounding, taller structures, and a box fan sat beside the counter, whirring away at full power.

 

The man behind the counter watched her approach with an uninterested expression, but his eyes were bright and fixed on her intently. Behind him were rows of shelves filled with jars and books, patches of the red brick the building was made of peeking through the gaps. Various barrels and bookshelves stuffed to bursting with thick books were scattered around the store, oddly shaped jars and knickknacks sat on top of every available surface.

 

It seemed a little odd.

 

It felt interesting.

 

Chae offered the man a nervous smile, glancing over at the poster in the window once more before making her decision.

 

“I saw the 'help wanted' and I was wondering if I needed to get the application from in here or maybe apply on a website...”

 

“Nah, we've got some printed out.” the man shrugged, pulling out a sheet of paper from beneath the counter. “It's pretty simple. You can go ahead and fill it out here and I'll give it to the boss when she comes back.”

 

“Oh, okay. That'll work.” Chae accepted the application and the pen the man offered her, flipping the paper over. It was one sided and, like he had said, rather simple. She had every box filled in less than ten minutes and the moment felt rather anticlimactic as she handed it back to him.

 

“Jeon Chaeyeong?” he hummed, glancing over her information. His hands, now clearly visible atop the counter, caught her eye, his skin littered with dull red scars that reached over his pale skin like the branches of a tree. She averted her gaze, not wanting be rude or to make him uncomfortable if he noticed her stare.

 

“Most people just call me Chae,” she murmured, fingers playing with her bracelet now that her hands had nothing to do. “I wasn't the only Chaeyeong in school when I was younger – the nickname kind of stuck permanently.”

 

“Jeon Chae, then.” he smirked a bit, an expression finally coming across his face. “I'm Cho Kyhyun, the manager. If you get the job, you can call me Kyuyhun-sunbae. I don't like being called oppa, so don't even think about it.”

 

Chae nodded in acknowledgment, giving him a formal bow as a greeting. “I hope I can work with you in the future.”

 

“We'll call you soon,” he promised, tucking the application back under the counter.

 

She nodded and glanced around at everything again before turning for the door, calling out a farewell as she went.

 

The warm spring air and bright sunlight outside was a stark contrast against the interior of the store and it felt like she was stepping into an entirely different world. Like waking from an odd dream.

 

It was not until she had made it out of the shopping center did she realize that she had no idea what the store actually sold.

 

It was third period. Hyuk was not in class. He was hiding in the boys' bathroom.

 

He felt ill, throat tight and stomach sore, and had locked himself into the stall furthest from the door. Curled up against the wall, ignoring the fact that it was probably filthy as he pressed his face against the painted brick in search of the relief its coolness provided, Hyuk wished he had some way to call the others to him.

 

N would know what was wrong with him. Most likely. He was the oldest and had a little knowledge of spell casting, having learned from watching Saetbyeol for years, some of his time spent with her alone before the others were created.

 

They all liked to complain about how N and his cutesy actions were annoying, but he was reliable and a comfort when they needed him.

 

Hyuk definitely needed him now.

 

They were not meant to get sick, even slightly. It was part of their magical traits, of their curse. To be ready for combat and the defense of their creators, able to take a hit and heal from it quickly. While they were not true personifications of a traditional doll, meant to affect another person, they were... inspired by them in their design.

 

Any damage that came to them would be healed after some time, their bodies repairing themselves though their connection to their creator's magic, in their case: Saetbyeol. N's ability to cast also stemmed from that connection, as well as the entire group's life force. Magic created them and magic continued to sustain them.

 

They had left Saetbyeol alive and well, trapped in a circle and a stasis charm, leaving her unable to follow them but also alive and well. For the most part.

 

Hyuk should not have felt so terrible if she was well.

 

Steeling himself, Hyuk took a deep breath and forced himself to ignore his nausea and pain, focusing instead on regulating his breathing. Taking slow, measured breaths, Hyuk focused instead on the flow of his magic, mentally following the path it took through his limbs and body to its core at his heart.

 

It was a form of meditation that Leo had taught him when they were 'younger'.

 

Because it took a greater effort to get a reaction from him, healing all of the inflicted damage and dealing with the pain that came with it was more difficult for him to bear.

 

Leo, for all his seemingly cold and indifferent air that he held in the presence of their creator (and now of strangers), had the softest heart of them all. Initially, Hyuk had misunderstood the front Leo put on and had taken his thoughtful silences as a sign that the elder disliked him. Now, though, caring for their youngest friend was as natural to Leo as breathing and he took every chance to dote on Hyuk.

 

Leo had been very intimidating when they first met but now Hyuk could fold him five different ways and Leo would not even lift a finger to stop him. In fact, he would probably just try to pet the baby's hair and tell him how cute he was.

 

His core felt a little dim, stretched over a large distance from its true source and refilling slowly because of it. Carefully, Hyuk prodded it, searching for his connection to Saetbyeol to get a feel for her life force.

 

A wave of fury hit him like a truck, Saetbyeol's rage felt strongly through the now open pathway, and Hyuk jerked away both mentally and physically from the connection. His face banged against the wall and a flood of warmth rushed down his chin, nose suffering from the hit.

 

Hyuk hardly even felt it, the pain less distracting than the nausea, and was careful not to let the blood drip on his new uniform as he tilted forward, snatching a handful of toilet paper to mop up the mess.

 

They had all felt Saetbyeol's anger at times, but it had always been more of a distant buzz rather than the forcefulness that Hyuk had just felt from her. N would be able to make better sense of it, but Hyuk was certain that the distance between them and their creator, and her anger at being trapped by them, was the cause of his current illness.

 

Groaning at the thought, Hyuk flushed the bloody paper down the toilet and stumbled out of the stall to wash his face. The water turned pink as it drained out of the sink and he took a deep breath when it began running clear, feeling slightly more steady now that his face was cool, and looked at the mirror to make sure his face was clean.

 

A hot flash of rage over came him at the sight of his reflection, his neck and ears flushing as the emotion threatened to overtake him. His fingers clenched tightly around the porcelain sink and it gave way beneath his hands, bringing him back to his senses.

 

For a moment, he saw his face revert to the way it looked when he was trapped in his cage, his skin bruised and split open in places.

 

Hyuk recoiled from the sight and suddenly he looked himself again, his reflection paler than usual and his expression one of fright.

 

He fled the bathroom, leaving the water running in the crumbling sink and feeling as if his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

 

By the time her second year of high school rolled around, Chae had become quite used to falling below the radar. Because she generally went unnoticed, she was not perceived as a threat to anyone's popularity and had managed to escape any form of bullying from her other classmates.

 

Therefore, when she found herself facing down a small group of girls on the way to her next class, the boys absent from her side at the moment, she was a bit disoriented by the change.

 

“Jeon Chaeyeong, right?” the girl at the front of the group asked, but it seemed more like a statement. She was attractive, with long eyelashes and a pretty smile, and Chae recognizes her as one of the second year girls who gets the most gifts on White Day, even if she failed to give any gifts to the boys in February. Her name is Somi. (At least, Chae thinks that was her name.)

 

She does not have a clue who the other girls are, first years she might guess, judging by their size and the way they followed after the pretty upperclassman like sheep.

 

The situation was turning out like some cliché from a drama and Chae wondered what she had done to gain their attention.

 

“That's me,” she said, rocking back on her heels and flashing the group a casual smile. She was wary, but she wanted to see where they were going to go with their cornering her. “Can I do something for you?”

 

“Actually, you can.” Somi smiled but there was no warmth to it. “You see, it's about those new boys who transferred in today. I'm going to ask one of them out, so don't get too friendly with them. Okay?”

 

Chae wanted to laugh at the other girl. Cliché indeed.

 

“Well, I'm not going to be mean to him. I definitely won't ignore him, if that's what you want. Hongbin, y'know, one of those new boys that you didn't bother naming, is pretty nice. And not just because of his looks. There's no reason for me not to become friends with him.”

 

“Excuse you?” Somi hissed, fake smile disappearing in an instant, and the group of girls moved closer to her.

 

It's like a freaking hive mind, Chae thought with astonishment. I'm totally expecting her to start talking about the Borg Collective any moment now.

 

“Hongbin is a person. If anyone decides if we should be friends or not, it'll be me or him. Not someone who doesn't even bother to refer to him by name.” Chae rolled her eyes at their angry expressions and is disbelieving that people could actually be that stupid. Seriously. “You guys are ridiculous. I'm out of here.”

 

She moved around the group quickly, not giving them a chance to respond properly, and dodged one of their feet when they moved to trip her.

 

It was ridiculous really and Chae could not be bothered to deal with them when it might make her late to her P.E class.

 

She really did not want to do laps for not being on time.