Yerim took Sae-ron by the hand as they walked through the woods. The younger girl was clearly very disturbed by the turn of events, and Yerim could feel the tightness in her clammy grip as she allowed herself to be led forward.

    “Can you at least give me a vague idea of what we’re going to do? Or what’s gonna happen? Like… is it gonna be safe?” Sae-ron asked, head darting back and forth as if the house would come out and ambush them at any moment.

    “Like I told you a million times, it’s easier to show you than to explain,” Yerim tried to sound reassuring; Sae-ron’s questions were completely justified, but that didn’t stop the blonde from getting annoyed at their frequency, “We’re almost there, anyway.”

    “You didn’t answer my last question.” Sae-ron noted.

    “Uhhh… well, they won’t cause you harm on purpose.”

    “They? I thought it was just a woman,” the brunette stated in almost betrayed tone.
    “I told you, there’s so much more to this story. Just… preemptively brace yourself if you can, okay? It’s a bit reality-shattering.”

    “Finding out that you managed to evade a ing psychotic, armed serial killer is probably as reality-shattering as it can get, Yerim.”

    Yerim laughed but chose not to respond, adamant on allowing the experience of meeting her new friends speak entirely for itself. She tried to keep herself calm, to push away her misgivings regarding the whole situation and hone in on the task at hand. She’d already started this potential wildfire. At this point, it was up to fate as to how her best friend would respond to everything. She attempted to be optimistic: wasn’t it kind of cool to be friends with god-like witches? Like something out of the movies? Something that you’d never think would happen to you, something that you fantasized about now and then, as a sort of escape from the mundane reality of your own life? Perhaps. Or, perhaps, it was an otherworldly, hellish night terror that filled you with anxiety, horrid memories, and existential dread? Yerim liked to see herself as somewhere in the middle, leaning more toward the former. She hoped Sae-ron would react as well, if not better, than she had.

    “Alright, we’re about to cross over into the space near the house,” Yerim said, squinting to make out the usual landmarks that denoted where the circle began, “It’s going to feel different. Like a chill, a certain change in location. The weather might change. Don’t be alarmed. I can tell them to change it to something more comfortable afterwards.”

    “Is this some sort of elaborate prank, Yeri?” Sae-ron demanded in a panicky voice, “Because it’s not funny, this whole thing, and-”

    “Not a prank,” Yerim cut in, just as she stepped into the circle, “See for yourself.”

    Sae-ron stepped in directly afterwards, instinctively clinging to Yerim’s side as she experienced the unsettling sensation of exiting her own world and entering a different one. The air was a bit chillier, as usual, and the previously clear sky was filled with dark, low-hanging thunderclouds that appeared to be prepared to spill their contents at a moment’s notice. Yerim’s brow furrowed in confusion. Why would the girls make the weather like this?

    “Holy , you were right,” Sae-ron hissed, “You were ing right, oh my god, the air is colder, it feels different, I wanna go back, what’s going on?”

    “It’s okay, Ronnie,” Yerim soothed, wrapping an arm around the younger girl’s shoulder, “We’re almost at the house. It usually isn’t this scary. I can tell them to make it more comfortable when we get there.”

    “Okay, whatever the that means,” Sae-ron sounded utterly fed up now.

    The pair continued their trek, coming into view of the abandoned home within the next two minutes. It somehow looked more foreboding than usual. Rather than being a simple, abandoned house, it had a more sinister appearance, as if it were some large, hulking, deformed creature, wide maw open in anticipation for its next meal.

    “That’s the house?” Sae-ron asked breathily, pressing harder to Yerim.

    “No, it’s the other abandoned house just down the road.”

    “Shut up, be serious.”

    “Yeah, that’s it.”

    The two girls stopped at the point where the trees cleared out, taking a moment to marvel at the wooden structure before them. Upon closer inspection, the house seemed the same usual, although Yerim couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

    “Alright. Let’s go, then,” Yerim moved to take a step, but Sae-ron remained rooted in place, resisting with all of her might.

    “We-we can’t just go up to it,” she said, her voice dripping with trepidation, “Look at it. It’s like a ing… actual haunted house. It’s too much. I think we should turn back.”

    “We’re already here, Sae-ron. I promise these girls will not hurt you. They saved my life, remember?”

    “I just have a really bad feeling. I don't know what it is. But this place… it’s like it’s telling us to leave.”

    “That’s how it always is around here,” Yerim said, tugging harder on Sae-ron’s arm, budging her slightly, “I told you, they can make it better-”

    Just then, the front door of the old house flew open, revealing a tall, crimson-haired girl, still dressed in the same outfit that she’d been wearing the last time Yerim had seen her. But, like many things about her current encounter with the house, something was off. Sooyoung sprinted forward, and as she ran, Yerim saw that her cheeks were stained by fresh tear tracks.

    “Sooyoung!” Yerim called, detaching from Sae-ron to meet the redheaded girl, “What’s wr-”

    Sooyoung practically threw herself onto Yerim, encapsulating her in an embrace that was filled with depression and vulnerability. She slumped onto the shorter girl’s shoulder, her eyes shut tight, ignoring Sae-ron’s presence.

    “S-Seul and Hyun are fighting!” the older girl whimpered, “They’re fighting and they won’t stop, and it’s so loud and scary and Wannie is at the beach right now so she can’t hear, otherwise she’d stop it, but I don’t wanna bother her and-and-and-”

    “Sooyoung.” Yerim said firmly, holding the sniffling taller girl out at an arm’s length, “Deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. In… out… in… out… good, keep that up. Just relax.”

    Sooyoung did as she was told, and although she still appeared very upset, she was more coherent, and no longer blubbering. Yerim smiled at her, massaging her shoulders to provide as much soothingness as possible.

    “Yerim, can you tell me what the is happening?” Sae-ron demanded, tapping Yerim on the back in an attempt to get her attention.

    “Shh,” the blonde commanded without turning around, “Please, just… give me a second.”

    Sae-ron stepped away with a frustrated huff. Yerim ignored it. There were more pressing matters at hand.

    “Okay, Sooyoungie, have you tried talking to them?” Yerim asked gently.

    Sooyoung shook her head, simultaneously mumbling something about being “scared”.

    “Okay, I’ll just talk to them for you,” Yerim decided, “Can you show me where they are? You don’t have to get too close, just point me in the right direction.”

    Sooyoung chewed on her lower lip and reached up to scratch at her arm in nervousness.

    “Is there a problem with that?” Yerim asked, running her thumbs along the sides of Sooyoung’s arms, trying to disregard the fact that the older girl seemed to be getting goosebumps from the contact.

    “N-no… come on.” Sooyoung turned immediately, grabbing Yerim by the wrist and half-dragging her along towards the house.

    “Sae-ron,” Yerim called back, “Stay here-”

    “Alone?!” Sae-ron said indignantly, jogging to keep up, “ that !”

    Yerim was unable to argue as she was yanked into the interior of the house; as soon as she crossed the threshold into the dimly lit foyeur, an unearthly cacophony of sounds assaulted her ears. They were about as loud as a school fire alarm and equally as shrill, although they wavered up and down, ceasing every now and then before returning at full volume. In the background, immersed in the stifling capsule of noise, were two distinct voices, two voices that sounded vaguely familiar but with a warped, insane flair to each of them, screaming unintelligibly.

    “Kitchen,” Sooyoung said sorrowfully, covering her ears with her palms, tears leaking out from beneath her eyelids, “Pl-please make them stop, Yerim. I’m so scared…”

    “It’s gonna be okay,” Yerim said, trying to keep her own deep-rooted fear from seeping into her voice.

    “What is that noise?!” Sae-ron yelled, covering her ears as well, although she looked less sad and more frantic than Sooyoung.

    “I don’t know,” Yerim answered honestly, “But I’m gonna stop it. For the love of god, stay right here with Sooyoung.”

    Sae-ron glanced over at the redhead, who was now seated smack dab in the center of the carpet, covering her ears and crying silently.

    “No way am I letting you go in there alone,” Sae-ron said in mock bravery, standing up straighter.

    “ing suit yourself. Just… keep your head down, and if I tell you to run, I need you to actually run.” Yerim’s tone conveyed a final sense of urgency, and Sae-ron nodded briskly in agreement.

    “Sooyoung,” Yerim turned her attention to the older girl, who reluctantly opened her eyes and unclenched her teeth in response, “Go upstairs, into Seungwan’s room, and go play on the beach. Tell her I sent you. She won’t get mad if you explain what’s going on, I promise.”

    “Y-you swear?” Sooyoung asked, and Yerim could feel the adoration welling up at her at the sight of the older girl’s wide, puppy-dog eyes.

    “I swear,” Yerim then wrapped her arms around Sooyoung’s body, giving her a hug and pulling her to her feet at the same time.

    For the first time since Sae-ron and Yerim had arrived at the house, Sooyoung smiled. It was small and marred by the sadness that weighed down the rest of the taller girl’s expression, but it was a smile nonetheless. And it warmed Yerim’s heart.

    “Good luck,” Sooyoung said before departing, running off up the large staircase.

    “Yerim,” Sae-ron yelled over the din of the fray in the kitchen, “Can’t we just leave? Go home and forget about all of this? Clearly this is something bigger than us… I… I can barely even think right now, this is ing insane.”

    The blonde heaved a large sigh, watching as Sooyoung retreated fully into Seungwan’s room, locking eyes with her one last time before the door shut behind her.

    “No, we can’t. Well, at least, I can’t. You’re free to go whenever you want. I have to sort this out.”

    “I’m not leaving you behind,” Sae-ron restated stubbornly, “So if you’re going in there, so am I.”

    “Don’t say I didn’t give you the option.”

    And, without affording the younger girl any opportunity to respond, Yerim barrelled into the inky blackness of the kitchen, sprinting through the open doorway like a warrior into battle.

    Within the first second, Yerim knew that she’d made a grave mistake. The kitchen was, frankly, no longer a kitchen. It was nothing more than purple-black void, one that stretched into the distance for an immeasurable length, creeping in vibrating waves that ebbed and flowed like the tides of a turbulent sea. She floated through it similar to the way that one would float through water, though the void was much thicker and took four times the effort to wade through. The jarring noises were much louder here, coming from both nowhere and everywhere at the same time, filling Yerim’s head and causing her to clench her jaw in pain. She looked back to see Sae-ron struggling to make her way through the murk, doing a sort of bastardized roke that was bringing her gradually closer and closer to Yerim. The doorway they had entered from was nowhere in sight, a realization that chilled the blonde to her core. She scanned the area, spinning around until she found what she was looking for: two blurred figures in the distance, two figures that could only have been Seulgi and Joohyun.

    The two figures were shifting in and out of view, fluttering and spinning in a variety of contortions. It was almost as if the two girls were part of the void itself, melding with its depths as they fought, each terrifying movement accompanied by the acoustic equivalent of a knife burying itself into her arm. The battle was becoming more and more heated, and as Yerim approached, she could feel the weight of each clash, smacking into her, pushing her back further and further each time. The shockwaves worked their way into her bones, creating a dull ache that intensified with each new strike, slowly transforming into a searing flame that made her want to call out anguish.

“Seulgi! Joohyun! Stop!” she yelled futilely, her words drowned out entirely.

Behind her, Sae-ron had started screaming. Whether it was a result of fear, pain, or some combination of both, Yerim wasn’t sure, but she knew that the only way to end it was to stop the battle raging before her. Unfortunately, the blonde had a strong suspicion that she wouldn’t make it there in time. Her muscles were weakening by the second, and it appeared that she was even further back than she had been before. Still, she fought on, her body screaming in protest, her mind pleading with her to stop.

    “Seulgi…” she moaned in desperation, “Joohyun… please…”

    But she knew it was fruitless. Her consciousness was slipping now, the void around her quaking violently, its odd, evil tendrils reaching out to her like the hands of the dead, trying to pull her into its depths, to consume her. She fought the cold, slimy appendages that wrapped around her wrists and legs, but to no avail. She was out of energy, out of time. She could barely feel anything anymore, only a constant drifting sensation that overwhelmed all of her senses…

    And then, there was a flash of white. It came as a wide, sweeping blade, cutting through the void, growing in size at it came, encompassing the entire area in a heavenly light. Around her, the void retreated, screaming in agony as the beam erased it. Yerim no longer felt as if she was adrift; instead, it was as if she were a six-year old once again, tucked in the arms of her father, safe and without a single care in the world.

Up ahead, Seulgi and Joohyun were thrown hard against the walls, which had changed back to normal kitchen walls as the fog lifted.

Yerim and Sae-ron were tenderly placed onto the floor, supported by the mysterious force the whole way down. The only sound now was that of Sae-ron’s whimpering cries; the brunette was curled into a ball, sobbing into her knees and refusing to move from that position. Yerim wanted to get up and go to her, but she found that her body was unwilling to move, as if every ounce of effort had been drained from it.

The white light receded then into a single point at the far end of the kitchen, directly between the unconscious, half-, beaten-looking Joohyun and Seulgi. As the glow touched the final corners of the room, the kitchen became a normal kitchen again, with no evidence of the petrifying skirmish that had taken place moments before.

The remainder of the light consolidated into a form, one that drifted to the ground, a petite form with curly brown hair that was splayed out to each side of her, giving her an angelic appearance as she floated to the ground.

As soon as Seungwan’s feet touched the floor, she sprinted over to Yerim.

The witch bent over and placed her palm on Yerim’s back. There was a rush of energy that flowed through the younger girl, a pleasant coolness that repaired every ache and pain in her body. She sprang into a standing position, an action that came almost by reflex, merely as a means to exert all of this newfound vigor that was pent up within her. Then, she used that same vigor to pull Seungwan into an embrace.

“Holy ing , Seungwan, you saved us, you saved our lives, oh my god, how'd you do that? How are you so strong? What the …” Yerim cried openly, holding the older girl tight.

“I… still… need to heal… your friend…” Seungwan choked out as she struggled to move away.

Yerim quickly released the shorter girl and allowed her to tend to Sae-ron.

As Seungwan performed her magic on the uniform-clad brunette, Yerim knew something was wrong. Sae-ron showed no change in her behavior, instead remaining tucked into a tight ball, sobbing uncontrollably, her body shaking incessantly.

“Sae-ron?” Yerim asked softly, bending over to place a hand upon her best friend’s shoulder, “Are you-”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Sae-ron screamed, springing to life, pulling herself along the floor and into the corner, “GET AWAY!”

Yerim remained frozen in shock, staring slack-jawed as Sae-ron cowered, her wild eyes darting back and forth between Yerim and Seungwan, her face red, covered in tears and snot, her movements erratic and trembling, turned into a deep, deranged scowl.

“Sae-ron,” Yerim started again, though she kept her distance this time, “What’s wrong?”

“WHAT’S WRONG?!” the younger girl screamed, “YOU JUST ING DRAGGED ME THROUGH ING HELL AND YOU’RE ASKING ME WHAT’S WRONG?!”

“I told you in the beginning to stay behind-”

“NO! DON’T GIVE ME THAT . YOU… YOU’RE A ING MONSTER! ALL OF THIS ! IT’S INSANE! THERE’S NO WAY IT’S REAL, I MUST BE GOING CRAZY, IT’S ALL JUST PART OF MY IMAGINATION!”

Yerim shook her head slowly, still trying to figure out the situation.

“You’re talking nonsense, Sae-ron. Just let me explain.”

“No…” Sae-ron’s voice cracked, pitching down into a barely audible whisper, her hands coming up to yank at her hair,  “None of this is real, you’re not real, I’m losing my mind… that’s the only explanation. I’m crazy, I’ve lost my ing mind, that’s the only explanation, that-”

Sae-ron was unable to finish her sentence, as she suddenly fell unconscious, her head slumping against her chest, her taut face relaxing completely, as if she were in a deep sleep.

Yerim turned to Seungwan, who had been observing the scene before her with an apprehensive eye.

“What did you do to her?!” Yerim demanded, stepping up to Seungwan.

“Relax. She’s just sleeping,” Seungwan answered, striding over to Sae-ron and lowering her into a less cramp-inducing position, “I think she just had a psychotic break. Who is she?”

“She’s my best friend from school. Her name is Sae-ron,” Yerim said, still staring at Sae-ron’s now supine form, “There was some… stuff that happened today, related to the incident that happened with Jungkook before, so I decided to bring her here and show her truth. I thought she could handle it.”

“You kinda showed up at a bad time,” Seungwan said regretfully, glancing over at the still-unconscious girls behind her.

“Are they gonna be alright?” Yerim asked as she regarded the scrapes and bruises lining Joohyun and Seulgi’s paper-like skin.

“Them?” Seungwan snorted without bothering to turn to look at her two friends, “They’ll be fine. That was literally nothing. I’m more concerned about Sae-run.”

“Sae-ron.”

“Whatever,” Seungwan bent over again, pressing her hand to the front of Sae-ron’s forehead.

“What are you doing?”

“Scanning her mind,” Seungwan said, shutting her own eyes tightly.

“You can do that?” Yerim asked incredulously.

Seungwan shook her head, brushing Yerim off and furrowing her brow as she went about whatever magical work she was engrossed in. Meanwhile, Yerim looked around the kitchen, wondering where Sooyoung had run off to in the midst of all of this chaos.

    After a full minute, Seungwan straightened up, her face taking on a stressed, almost melancholy expression that caused Yerim’s stomach to drop.

    “What is it?” Yerim demanded, panic rising within her, “What’s wrong?”

    Seungwan sighed and ran a hand through her auburn locks, her gaze pointedly avoiding Yerim’s.

    “She’s very, very, very, stressed,” the older girl said reluctantly, “Her brain is just a mess of confused and jumbled thoughts. She’s essentially questioning everything about the world as she knows it. She’s going insane.”

    “What?!” Yerim dropped to the floor, scooping Sae-ron’s head up and placing it in her lap, looking over the sleeping girl’s face, “She’ll be okay, though, right? She’ll… come to terms with it, or whatever?”

    “I… don’t think so, Yeri,” Seungwan still refused to look at Yerim, a characteristic that chilled the younger girl immensely, “As long as she still has the knowledge of what happened today, she won’t be the same.”

    Yerim’s tears fell heavily, splashing onto Sae-ron’s pale cheeks.

    “This is all my fault…” the blonde whispered, caressing her best friend’s face, brushing away a bit of hair and tucking it behind her ear, “I shouldn’t have brought you here. I’m so sorry...”

    “Hey,” Seungwan said, placing a hand on Yerim’s shoulder, causing the blonde to look up, “I think I can fix it. If I erase her memories of what happened here today… that could in theory restore her sanity.”

    “Are you sure?” Yerim questioned desperately, a small flicker of hope growing within her.

    “Well, there might still be lasting effects. Minor ones, in comparison to what she’d be if we just left her this way,” Seungwan said, “But it’s the only thing I can think of.”

    “Do it, please,” Yerim carefully lowered Sae-ron’s head to the floor and stood up in order to make room for Seungwan, “Anything to make her better.”

    “Okay,” Seungwan said, “It’s kind of a tricky thing to do, to go in her head and just pluck out certain experiences. But I think I can do it. I’ll also set a spell on her that, once you bring her outside the circle, will teleport both you and her directly to her home. What memories do you want her to have?”

    Although Yerim was still shell-shocked, she told the full story of what had occurred at school that day, highlighting specific details in order to give Seungwan a better idea of what had gone on. The tale took a few minutes to tell, with Yerim stopping here and there in order to gather herself. The ordeal with Joohyun and Seulgi had taken its toll on her as well, and although Seungwan’s healing helped, she still felt an impending sense of doom, tickling at the back of her neck like some evil spectre.

    “Alright,” Seungwan said when the younger girl had finished, “I’ll make it seem that you were sent home from school and drove to Sae-ron’s house immediately. An uneventful drive, where you talked about the fight, and never mentioned anything regarding the killer that chased you, or this place. That part may seem oddly fuzzy to her, but all you have to do is convince her that she took a nap when you got to her house. Sound good?”

    “Okay,” Yerim said, taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs, “When will Seulgi and Joohyun wake up, by the way? I’m getting a little concerned…”

    “When you leave,” Seungwan said offhandedly, “I figured you wouldn’t want to speak with them for a bit.”

    “You didn’t have to do that…” Yerim could feel herself blushing at the older girl’s consideration for her, “What were they fighting over, anyway?”

    Seungwan hesitated, and although her back was turned to the blonde, Yerim could feel the uncomfortableness radiating from her as she stood there.

    “...Nothing. Just a regular couple’s argument.”

    “I don’t believe you.”

    “You don’t have to,” Seungwan said, her tone oozing with finality as she moved to tend to Sae-ron, “I’m gonna get started now. Try not to make too much noise, because I need to concentrate.”

    Yerim sighed and relaxed for what felt like the first time in eternity, allowing her head to fall into her open palms as she made the most genuine attempts possible to think of absolutely nothing at all.

    After a short time of sitting in silence, staring at the darkly shifting insides of her eyelids, Yerim suddenly felt the sensation of a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to find Sooyoung standing nervously beside her, staring down at Seungwan as the auburn-haired girl cradled Sae-ron’s head in her lap. Sooyoung seemed to be in a much better condition compared to before, though she was staring at Sae-ron with a mask of worry over her features, chomping down on her lower lip, as was her usual habit when she was in a questionable situation.

    Wordlesslessly, Yerim leaned her head up against the side of Sooyoung’s thigh, shutting her eyes and letting out a deep sigh as the first few tears rolled down her pallored cheeks. Sooyoung’s hand moved positions, resting itself on the curtain of blonde that obscured half of Yerim’s face, up and down, running through her silky locks, providing a modicum of soothingness for the younger girl.

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Bet you didn't see that coming (: .... wait, no smiley face emoticon, this is actually sad ):

Thanks for reading<3