Who you really are

i.

 

 

As a witch there were many things I could do. Moving objects, speaking to animals, growing trees, helping people in general, that was pretty much a description of what a good witch would do, right? Then, there was the second option: I could use my magic to do bad things such as destroy towns, steal, ruin people’s lives (the last two points I would actually do occasionally). In our society, people loved labeling things and people, and especially those with powers or magic. Like me. That’s why, to some, I was an evil witch, for others, I was a good one. Truth was, I was neither good nor bad. If I had to choose a word to describe myself, it would rather be selfish. The notion of good or bad didn’t exist in my little world, I did whatever I wanted and nobody could stop me.

Needless to say that the worldwide government did everything in their power to restrain and control people like me. Laws and stupid rules were there to prevent us from doing something reckless and inconsiderate. Didn’t quite work on me.

Being a witch overall was fun, unless of course if you were trained by a freaking demon which was anything but fun. I learnt the hard way that to get powerful you needed to sacrifice yourself and everything that mattered to you. My mentor was a sadist (quite normal considering the fact that she was a demon), had a thing for refined objects and sophisticated people. Wanted to stay alive? Better be interesting or else in a blink of an eye you would end up in hell, being a toy to some low demon. During my training, the few poor souls that had the misfortune to cross our path, ended in a very bad place. A place I would rather avoid at all costs and in order to do that I had to stick to one simple rule. Do not use any forbidden spell that would give you a free ticket to hell.

I thought I was invincible, untouchable because I was raised and trained by a demon. And yet, everything changed when I met Park Jimin and suddenly decided to break the only rule I was not supposed to break.

How sad.

Truly.

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

 

Lee Eunji was my name.

By the age of five, I realized that something was off with me. I could do things that other kids around me couldn’t. Back then, our world only started discovering that humans weren’t the only creature walking on this earth. But of course I was too small to understand any of it. My parents however understood almost immediately what was going on with me. I was five and naïve most of the time but the look in their eyes would probably haunt me for the rest of my life. They were my parents and yet they got scared of what I was about to become.

My parents weren’t the only one to catch on and to get scared. At school, teachers avoided me as if I was contagious. Kids grew cold and mean to me. They didn’t understand what was wrong with me, what was different but they noticed adults’ behavior and it was enough for kids to follow their example. In no time I found myself completely isolated and harassed. I was a freak.

It hurt because at such a young age I was forced to face the cruel world and the reality of my new life. I was desperate, craving for love from my parents and family and yet, all I had was loneliness.

It didn’t last. Someone came and snatched me from my misery. One of the greatest Lords of hell decided that I was worth his attention. Well, not his but her, even if I had to admit that most of the time people got confused by her. And this is how I became Belial’s best –or at least I believed so- student.

By the age of ten, I knew all the deadliest spells –because come on, it was definitely something a ten-year-old kid had to know; it was and I quote Belial “the most interesting part of magic”. I had doubts about the necessity of me knowing how to kill with magic but I accepted everything she taught me. The good, the bad. Because yes, there was some good in her teaching.

You would think that since she was a Greater Demon, she would teach me only the dark magic, forbidden spells and of course she did teach me all of this but not only. According to her, to fully understand my power, I needed to know every magic of this world, including the white magic. To my surprise, Bel knew strong spells that could help people. So I learnt how to heal myself and grow plants and trees and help Nature. It was a weird aspect of my training but I enjoyed every moment of it.

By the age of twelve, I learnt that magic wasn’t enough to protect myself, so I learnt how to fight. I quickly realized that magic was my forte, but fighting? How could I even fight when I was quite clumsy? I spent most of the time hurting myself with the blade while trying to fight my opponent.

Pitiful.

Until Belial decided that the best way to teach me was to throw me in hell and let her favorite pets play with me. Worst experience ever, wouldn’t recommend it even to my worst enemy.

By the age of sixteen, I moved back in Seoul, leaving behind the small house in the forest. It felt weird being back in this big city, among people. Everything seemed new and odd to me but I was eager to rediscover this world, now that I wasn’t weak. But then, Belial suddenly disappeared, leaving me all by myself. Maybe it was an accident, maybe it was bound to happen. I was back in town, back in school, trying to catch up with normal life. Let me tell you it was probably the hardest thing for me to do.

To some, this experience could seem traumatizing –it probably was, and yet it forged my personality and the person I was today. A selfish one.

Now, you wonder what did Park Jimin have to do with anything? Well, he changed me. He made me care.

The first time I’ve met him was on a dark and cool night of July. I was twenty-two by then and freshly graduated from college. Who could have imagined that beside being good with magic, I would actually be good with studies? Magic was of course still part of me, but I decided to be normal –or at least pretend to be normal. I went out with friends every Saturday night, I found a job that I absolutely hated and I tried dating –failed hard in this domain-.

The night I met him, I was coming back from a party. Some of my colleagues invited me to a night club where they celebrated the success of our new product launch. I didn’t want to go, nightclubs weren’t my cup of tea but I had to be normal, remember?

It was past two in the morning when I left the club. Most of the streets were empty but I didn’t mind because my eyes could see what humans couldn’t: the real colors of this world. To me, the night wasn’t dark. Unseen by human’s eyes, the sky was filled with thousands of lights of different colors. It was a beautiful sight that I would never get tired to look at. This world was beautiful despite its flaws and I wished more people could realize it and protect it.

I crossed a small alley that led me to the main street, when suddenly the street lights started flickering. Slowly at first –and it didn’t bother me- and then faster and faster until one by one it exploded.

I stopped abruptly and scowled. The main street was plunged in the darkness. Full darkness. Even the particles of magic disappeared in the area. My scowl grew only deeper as a rotten smell suddenly spread from the small alley not so far from me. I couldn’t see the source of it, yet, but my magic and my nose got triggered. An evil spirit was definitely lurking around. Nothing good in perspective. And from the nasty smell, I could already tell that it wasn’t something nice to look at.

More I waited and more the smell got stronger. I had only two choices before me: I could be the selfish person and leave whoever got possessed by this spirit all alone –and it was definitely something I would usually do-, or I could help the poor soul. But did I want to get dirty?

Evil spirits never scared me, none of them were strong enough to deal with me anyway. I just didn’t like mingling in their business.

I shook my head as the smell once again hit my senses. I closed my eyes and started walking again, turning my back to the human who got unlucky.

Are you really going to let the poor soul to get consumed by this spirit?

One step. Two steps.

I didn’t go far.

I couldn’t.

For the first time in months, my conscience decided to wake up and piss me off. I never really understood where did this little voice come from but it would always annoy me. I bit my lips and closed my eyes before concentrating on the steps behind me. It was definitely getting closer and maybe a little bit too fast.

I took a deep breath; without turning around I summoned my magic around me to create some light, making whatever was behind me hiss in pain and anger. The steps halted behind me and I chose this moment to turn around. I had to admit that I expected something really ugly and monstrous, just like those filthy demons I used to see when I was in hell. Instead, I faced a young man, my age probably. Because of the black and sickening aura that surrounded him I couldn’t clearly see his face but something caught my attention. The sight of him being fully controlled made my blood boil –which didn’t make sense since I never cared for anyone-.

“You smell.” I said, trying not to breath too much. “Did you seriously need to take control on someone and cross my path? I can’t just pretend I haven’t seen you!”

The man didn’t say a word and yet I could distinguish a growl. A growl that definitely came from the spirit inside of him. “I’m giving you a choice. Either you leave his body and I’ll let you go or I’m going to send you back to hell.”

The growl got only louder and more threatening and it did actually send a shiver down my body.

“I’m not afraid of a mere human.” The faint voice said. Definitely not a human voice

“Do I look human to you? You must be new otherwise you wouldn’t say something so stupid.” I scoffed at him as I crossed my arms against my chest.

It hissed again. The black aura spread around the man and surrounded me, trying to hurt me but as soon as the aura touched my body it burnt. The creature hissed in pain while I rolled my eyes. “Told ya. Now, I guess I have no other choice.”

Everything that followed happened fast. The creature tried attacking me again but I was much faster and casted a spell that opened the bloody Hell’s doors. I hated this sight, it reminded me too much of my own experience in Hell. Chains came through the door and went straight through the young man’s body, grabbing the evil spirit’s soul and bringing it out of him. I could hear its scream, a scream that honestly froze my blood. I would never get used to this.

As the door closed, the man lost balance and was about to fall if it wasn’t for my good reflexes as I caught him before he could hit the ground. Now that the black aura around him vanished, I could fully see him and I had to admit that he was handsome. Blond hair, fair skin and really adorable cheeks.

“What am I supposed to do with you now?”

The solution to my problem was probably not the nicest thing I could have done for someone who got possessed by an evil spirit but I absolutely didn’t want to have anything to do with this man. So I took him to the closest bench and let him lay there. I contemplated the idea of leaving him like this, unprotected and at the sight of all but once again my conscience kicked in.

“Bloody hell.”

I looked back at him and sighed in defeat. I was being way too generous that night. It was probably his stupid adorable cheeks that convinced me to at least cast a spell to make sure nothing could harm him while he was unconscious.

I took a pen and a piece of paper from my bag and quickly wrote a message.

Next time, try not to get possessed by an evil spirit. Superheroes do not exist in our world, ok? You were just lucky I was in good mood to save your .

-From anonymous girl who kicked the evil spirit back to Hell

PS: Drink lot of water, it will help you recover

PS 2: Since when do evil spirits possess hot guys?

It was probably the stupidest note ever, especially the last part. But how could I have known that it would back fire on me?

That’s the thing, I couldn’t.

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

Having a job was great. It paid my bills, my meals but it wasn’t enough to lead a proper life. Or maybe Bel had a much bigger impact on me than I thought. With years I found myself being greatly attracted to diamonds, precious gems, magical objects. And let’s not talk about ancient artefacts. It because clearly working in marketing didn’t pay enough for this luxurious life.

I realized that as a normal human, I could do nothing about my life but as a witch there was almost nothing impossible. Obviously using magic for stealing went against the worldwide laws, but then again, it mattered only if they could catch me. And honestly? I was too good and too strong for them to catch me. For that, I had to thank my lovely mentor.

Or not.

That’s why I ended up at a fancy charity party. All our good society gathered there, wearing beautiful dresses, suits and their finest jewelry.

What a sight.

I didn’t care much about the party itself, nor did I care about the people present in the main hall. However, what I cared about were all the precious and rare magical objects that the owner of this place had.

Maybe I should have made some research about the owner and this party. It would have avoided me a very awkward situation.

The very first step to get to my goal was to blend in, which to be honest wasn’t that hard. A nice long black dress that fully exposed my back, with high heels and nice jewelries made me look like one of them. No one could even have a slight suspicion about me or about the reasons of my presence that night. I, honestly, was a very good actress and deceived everybody with my acting. Men and women talked with me, about pretty much everything and no one could see through me.

The second step was to find the perfect timing to leave the venue, unnoticed, and find the library where the owner supposedly kept his treasure. So far, everything was going according to my plan. It was perfect.

Until my clumsy self decided to bump into someone I wasn’t particularly looking forward to see again.

“Oh sorry!” He apologized quickly but then, when our eyes met he froze and so did I. My eyes widened in shock at the sight of the man who had clearly recovered from the evil spirit. He looked so much better now that he was free. I had to admit that he was a really handsome man, even for my standard. He was dressed in a black suit, the first three buttons of his black shirt were undone which definitely gave him a y look.

If I wanted to keep a low profile, I should have apologized too and ran away. Instead, my voice got stuck in my throat as I stared at him. The man that was once an innocent soul trapped by an evil spirit represented now a danger to my operation. I hoped for a moment that he wouldn’t recognize me, after all everything happened so fast that night but the glint in his eyes told me that he knew exactly who I was.

“You.” He muttered

What exactly was I supposed to say? Hi, nice to meet you? You look better without an angry evil spirit inside you? Nothing seemed appropriate and honestly I just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. Preferably before he would catch on with the reason behind my presence here. I took advantage of his astonishment to run away.

It was ridiculous. Yes, a witch, raised by a freaking demon, fought tons of them, got some dangerous magic and yet I couldn’t handle a simple man. Shame on you, Eunji. Bel would have laughed her off.

I could feel his eyes while I tried to get as far as possible from him. Luckily for me, the lights went off as the show began. That was my cue to leave.

Once I was out of everybody’s sight, I took a small enchanted piece of paper –bless the localization spells- that was about to lead me to my precious stones. Thanks to it, it took me only five minutes to get to the library.

It was a huge two floor room, filled with wooden furniture and shelves. A beautiful and giant crystal chandelier illuminated the whole place. I spun around the place, admiring the view and the impressive book collections –not surprising considering how huge the library was but still. However, what really got my full attention were the vitrines in the middle of the room. The owner of this place, indeed, had a great taste in ancient artefacts and it would be my pleasure to steal from him.

I took a little bottle of what looked like perfume from my gad and sprayed it all around the place. Obviously, it had nothing to do with perfume, it was a potion that would destroy every protection and alarms around the vitrines.

I waltzed around the place, touching with the tip of my fingers some furniture, some old books, loving the feeling of old books’ cover against my skin.

I halted around a set of vitrines, taking my sweet time to admire the rare gems and precious stones. Some of the stones started glowing as I got closer. I gasped, surprised and at the same time delighted that those stones were made of magic. What a waste. Their place was with me, I decided and not with some old, grumpy, fat and rich man.

“I guess it’s true that women’s best friends are diamonds.”

The voice completely startled me. I was caught red handed and it was a first. Nobody was supposed to be around and yet.

Slowly and with apprehension I turned around to face the unlucky man who would lose against me. I just didn’t expect to face him.

I stared, completely taken aback by his presence. I thought I escaped from him.

I was damn wrong.

What followed, caught me off guard even more. He smiled. A genuine smile on top of that, as if he was actually happy to see me. I contemplated the idea of knocking him off or –the dumbest choice- let him speak. I should have played safe and got rid of him. Instead? I did nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Except maybe taking a step back. How in the world he managed to sneak on me was still a mystery.

“Those diamonds aren’t very interesting though. Especially compare to the collection other there.” He pointed at the vitrines behind me. “Those stones for example come from India.”

I knew all of that and I wanted to tell him that. But I couldn’t. I was just so taken aback by his friendliness when clearly I was a thief here.

“Why?” I finally managed to ask –and yet my voice cracked and made me sound so weak.

He tilted his head to the side and gave me a confused look.

“Why what?”

Whatever the game he was playing, I hated it. Or was he just a creep?

“You’re weird and creepy.”

“Well, thank you.” Despite my tone being a little aggressive, he didn’t mind and smiled. Wasn’t he tired of smiling? “So, which one of those stones do you want? I assume you came for the stones and not actual diamonds, right?”

“Is it yours to give?” I scoffed

“Actually, it is.”

“Wh-“

“I think we never got the chance to properly introduce ourselves. I’m Park Jimin, the owner of this place. And thank you for saving my life.”

I couldn’t believe this. The owner was supposed to be an old and grumpy and fat and disgusting and certainly not young and handsome man. Now I could almost feel guilty about my intentions. I sighed in defeat and look straight into his eyes.

“You’re welcome.” I reached out my hand for him to shake it; he did it without hesitation –probably because it was the first time I showed some positive feelings.

But then, something weird happened. The moment our hands touched, I felt a jolt going through my body. I held back my breathe as suddenly my heart got squeezed hard in my chest. It didn’t make any sense. I hiccupped out of nowhere making him chuckle.

Did I feel ridiculous?

Definitely.

“Can I know your name?”

I quickly withdraw my hand and regained my composure. “Not gonna happen!”

“Why not?”

“I was about to steal something from you.”

“Oh! But would it still considered as stealing if I give it to you willingly?”

My eyes widened in shock. This man was definitely a weirdo and weird people scared the hell out of me because they were unpredictable. Suddenly, he didn’t seem that nice. What if it was just a trap? I couldn’t let a simple rich kid get me caught. I’d be the laughing stock in hell. I couldn’t let it happen.

But it seemed like he saw through me.

“I swear it’s not a trap. You saved my life, the least I can do is to give you one of these stones.”

“Are you a mind-reader?” I snapped

He freaking laughed, completely unfazed. “Am not. But it’s written all over your face. I’m pretty good at reading body language.”

I came to conclusion that Park Jimin was an overwhelming person. I couldn’t explain why he had such a big impact on me but for the first time in my life I felt little and intimidated by a human. There was just something quite unsettling in his eyes.

“You’re just so weird.” I finally said, letting it all go and relaxing under his gaze

“I guess coming from you it’s a compliment.”

“Do as you wish.”

“So? What’s your name?”

“Lee Eunji.” I averted my eyes from his face to look at the stones. “Some of those stones contain magic. Black magic for some and obviously dangerous.”

“Oh? Is it?”

“Yes. This one.” I pointed at a red gem of the size of my fist. From outside it looked like a simple red gem but I could see beyond it: it contained magic and rather dangerous one. “It’s buzzling with dark magic.”

“And yet you want it.” I could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of my head as he got closer to me.

“I like beautiful stones and if they have magic it’s even better.” I admitted and even smiled.

“Take it.”

I stared at him as he opened the vitrines. Would it be weird if I say that I was a tiny bit attracted to this young man? He was human, yes, but there was just something else that I couldn’t exactly pinpoint but it had a great impact on me.

The moment Jimin stretched out his hand to grab the stone, its light darkened. It was a glint at first – I barely noticed it, before from red it turned to black and the aura around it grew only stronger and more dangerous with every passing seconds. I had no idea of what was going on but I was sure of one thing: it was after Jimin.

Everything in the room started shaking; furniture, vitrines, doors, nothing could resist to the darkness emitting from the stone. Yes, it was beautiful but extremely annoying. Before it could hit Jimin, I grabbed his arm tightly and pulled him behind me with all my strength.

“What’s going on?” Jimin whispered. Somehow he managed to free himself from my grip; I was about to complain but soon enough I felt his hand and his fingers intertwined with mine. I almost lost control the moment I felt his soft fingers touching mine, there was another stupid jolt that almost made me turn around and look at him. But I resisted the urge and concentrated on the stone.

Nevertheless, his question was good. It didn’t make sense that the stone reacted to Jimin, he was a simple human after all. So why? I didn’t get time to ponder any further on the question as the shaking suddenly stopped. The calm returned and Jimin was ready to let go of my hand. I refused to let go. This calm was an ominous sign. I stretched out my free hand and concentrated my energy around it. And then it hit me.

“The stone, there is a soul inside it. It has a damn conscious and it obviously wants you.”

“Lucky me.” His voice suddenly sounded weak and scared –couldn’t really blame him for that. First it was an evil spirit and now the stone wanted obviously to take over him too. Why were they so badly attracted by Park Jimin?

“Can you do something about it?”

I could, but it tore my heart. Goodbye sweet stone, it was nice desiring you.

My eyes darted between the man behind me and the stone. Was he worth it? I couldn’t tell but since I had saved him once, I couldn’t possibly let him die now. Stupid conscience.

“Damn you and your stupid adorable cheeks.” I muttered before looking away and casting a destructive spell over the stone.

It tried to fight back, protecting itself and eventually it tried to attack me. Nice try but there was a very strong barrier around me and Jimin since I was protecting him.

There was a loud bang and then the stone simply cracked before turning to ashes.

I sighed in defeat and this time let go of Jimin’s hand. He looked at me, probably seeing the deception written all over my face.

“Thanks for saving my adorable cheeks.” He chuckled, shamelessly using my words against me

Why did I save him again?

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

After that dreadful night, I started seeing Park Jimin everywhere. On ads, buildings, TV, sometimes I believed seeing a glimpse of him in the crowd, and even, sadly for me, my colleagues couldn’t stop talking about him. Maybe it had always been like this and I just didn’t pay enough attention, or maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. Something I wasn’t particularly fond of.

It was another of those days where my colleagues would gather during their coffee break to talk about their weekend, about families, love-life and many other useless subjects that I would rather avoid to talk about. But this time, it was a talk I just couldn’t pretend to not hear: Park Jimin.

“Damn, he’s hot! Like really hot!” Minji, one of my colleague, almost screamed as she went through few pages of a magazine. “Seriously, this guy can’t be real.”

“Stop drooling.” Soojin laughed but could only agree. “It seems like he’s getting only handsomer. It’s not fair for us, poor peasant.”

Despite not wanting to pay attention, I couldn’t help but snort at Soojin’s words and of course it didn’t go unnoticed. She glanced at me, gave me a knowing look while I tried to hide my face behind my computer screen.

“I heard that, Eunji.” Soojin hummed before turning back her attention on Minji. “I heard he’s gay.”

“I call bull. Those trashy journalists have no dirt on him so they would spread rumors!”

I groaned in frustration; my hands covered my ears just so I couldn’t hear any more of this stupid, useless conversation.

Didn’t work at all.

“I can hear your groaning, Eunji.” Soojin looked at me, absolutely delighted by the sight of me suffering behind my screen. It wasn’t like she knew what actually happened, but by the look she gave me, she knew something was off.

“Don’t mind me.” I pleaded, still hiding behind my screen

“Oh come on! What do you think about it, Eunji?” Minji, this time, screamed.

All their attention shifted to me. Minji looked at me hopefully as if my words could change anything –and I guess it could since I’ve met him before, while Soojin crossed her arms against her chest, a scowl visible on her face. They shoved the magazine under my nose, forcing me to look at his annoyingly handsome face and still adorable cheeks. I cringed at his sight. Of course journalists would spread rumors about him, he was too good to be real, and what was even more annoying was that I knew he was a really pure and nice person.

“So?”

“I have no opinion.” I finally said and shrugged as if it was nothing.

“Please! I can’t believe you!” Minji yelled in frustration and threw her arms dramatically in the air. Kwon Minji was a drama queen but I kind of liked her. “No normal woman would ignore this piece of art! I can’t believe you, Eunji!” She grabbed my shoulders, tightly, and shook me.

“Fine! Fine!” I yelled, giving in, “He’s hot but I have no idea about his preference. How about you go and ask him yourself?”

“Tsk. I wish I could!”

“Minji, you’re married.” Soojin reminded her, rolling her eyes at the same time

“Details!”

Would it be weird to say that I actually laughed at their interaction? But then, my eyes fell back on the double page given to his interview with some really nice pictures. And just like that I wanted to flip a table.

I wondered if I was annoyed because I lost a precious gem in order to save his life or because I was trying to cover something else with my annoyance.

“Girls, how about you go back to work?” Secretary Song scolded us. I rolled my eyes at her; why the hell was I being scolded when I didn’t even want to be part of this conversation?

Song Hyesoo happened to be our CEO’s secretary while being my friend. I have never truly befriended anyone, but then she discovered by accident my true identity and somehow we got along. Behind her strict bun and her glasses that gave her a really scary look, she was wild, yet lovely and caring –sometimes too much for my liking-, a weird mix in my opinion.

Minji and Soojin almost ran away, scared of her. I silently thanked the heaven –quite ironical coming from me, for sending her.

She approached me while I was a little distracted by the magazine and took a peek at the magazine that was still opened at Jimin’s page. She hummed before looking very seriously at me. “You have a nice taste in men.”

“What? I’m-“

“I saw you at the party.” She cut me before I could protest. “Especially at the end. You both looked messy. Are you hiding something?”

The innuendo made me speechless. First, I was shocked that she had spotted me among all those people – I wasn’t even aware of her presence at the party. Then, I was even more shocked at what she implied. “I can’t believe you said that!”

“What? I’m actually really offended that you didn’t tell me about your relationship!”

“Because there is nothing to say!” My outburst didn’t convince her at all. Instead, she stared at me, her brows slightly raised; it made me only more annoyed. Suddenly she sighed in defeat and flopped on the chair beside me, linking her arm with mine.

“When was the last time you actually dated someone?” She finally asked

“I don’t need a man.” I scoffed, offended by her useless worries

“Eunji, Eunji, Eunji. You’re a wild woman but just like any other you need a man. Can you really tell me that you’re happy alone?”

Her words stung more than I wanted to admit. Clearly I wasn’t happy with my current life; ever since Bel abandoned me I felt alone and probably lost but admitting it hurt my ego.

“See.” She said this time softly as she my arm. “No matter how strong and independent you are; you still need love, just like any other women.”

“I’m not like you.”

“You’re more human than you think.”

I didn’t like her sudden sympathy, but before I could snap at her, her phone rang.

“Right. I forgot about it.” She muttered to herself, knowing beforehand what to expect as she took the call. “Yes I know I’m slow.”

“Stop chatting and get her in my office!”

I snorted at the man’s voice.

“.” Hyesoo said just after he hung up on her.

“Ha! And you dared to scold me last time I called him names!”

Hyesoo didn’t seem amused, her eyes shooting daggers at me and I almost shivered at the change in her eyes.

“You heard the boss. Get in his office before he snaps at both of us.”

“Are you actually scared of him? I mean, yes he’s our boss, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“You underestimate him a little too much, Eunji. Behind his smile, I’m sure he’s hiding something.”

Never judge a book by its cover. I should never forget this saying. Never. Park Chanyeol was an annoying –pain in the , unpredictable and very ambitious man, and just like Hyesoo, he happened to be someone I was acquainted with. If Hyesoo was a friend of mine that I had met during my college years, Chanyeol was another guy I saved by accident. Maybe I would have considered myself as a good witch –considering the fact that I saved quite a lot of people from a bad end, if it wasn’t for my selfishness and greed.

Chanyeol’s sudden urge to see me felt fishy, I knew it from the moment I heard his voice but I couldn’t possibly ignore him.

 

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

 

“How come I always need to call you in my office so I can talk to you?” Chanyeol said as soon as I stepped inside his office

“Because you’re a noisy man and I don’t like it.” I sighed, closed the door behind me and went to take place on his couch. “And because it’d be weird to others if I started spending too much time with you. I don’t need unnecessary attention, Yeol.”

He sighed in defeat. “You’re a terrible friend, Eunji. You never answer my call.”

I wanted to correct him; he was more an annoying acquaintance than a friend –or maybe I just didn’t want to admit that this giant did become someone important in my life.

“Why did you want to see me?”

“Can’t I see a friend?”

I stared blankly at him, making him understand that he needed to be more convincing.

“Fine. There might be another motive.”

“Spill the beans, Yeol. See, I don’t have the whole day.”

“I’m your boss.”

“Should I call back that demon and let him take your soul?”

“You’re a terrible friend!” He whined like a child and ruffled his hair in frustration. “I was at the party.”

“Bloody hell, not you too.”

He raised a brow, baffled by my words. “I was about to say that I was surprised to see you there. You looked really nice. How did you get there?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me about Park Jimin?” I asked, suspicious by his behavior

“Straight to the point as always. Are you two close?”

“No. I made the mistake to save another stupid human.”

Chanyeol chuckled and patted my back. “You’re a witch but your annoyance is very human-like, Eunji.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Oh come on! You pretend hating us and yet you couldn’t help but save us. I don’t know about Jimin, but I’m sure you felt bad seeing me tortured by this demon.”

“Your cases are completely different.” I groaned, not wanting to talk about it any further

“Do you perhaps have some dirt on him?”

Now it made sense. Hyesoo was interested in my relationship with Jimin because she actually wanted to see me with someone while Chanyeol clearly had eyes only for his business –not like I could blame him for that.

“I don’t. This dude is annoyingly pure and perfect.”

Chanyeol threw his head back and groaned in frustration. “I really hoped you would say otherwise.”

But I couldn’t, because Park Jimin was a truly pure soul.

 

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

 

After a rather hectic morning, I found refuge in a Starbucks, hiding from my colleagues and the world. I couldn’t do much to distract myself in broad daylight, except reading some old spell book that I might have stolen from a very frustratingly handsome man. A part of me –and I hoped it was the biggest part of me, didn’t like this whole Jimin’s mess and Chanyeol’s stupid plan, but at the same time I actually found myself wishing to see him again.

“Now, that’s a rather rare book you have here. I wonder where you got it.”

I flinched hard at this voice, amused and filled with mischief. I snapped my head, a little too fast, looking straight at a smiling Park damn Jimin. That was fast, was my first thought at his presence here, but then my eyes looked up and down, taking notice that he wore a nice black jacket with black pants and black shirts. Black definitely suited him and it only emphasized his white skin and blond hair.

I might have stared for too long –instead of actually answering him, because when my eyes fell back on his face, I saw him smirking. This little .

“Are you actually stalking me?” Was probably the stupidest thing I could actually ask him but it seemed like whenever he was around my brain would lose its cells.

He chuckled, unfazed by my question, and sat at the empty spot in front of me without even asking for my opinion. “Not at all. I guess it’s just fate!”

“Fate my .” I muttered to myself. Fate was a foolish thing to believe in. I hated it. It probably sounded ironical not to believe in fate when we were surrounded by magic and some odd creatures but I refused to believe in something like fate.

“You don’t believe in fate?” He rested his head against the palm of his hand as he looked at me with soft eyes and clearly interested in whatever I was about to say.

So annoying.

“I believe in many things but fate is such a boring concept.”

“Is it?”

“Fate, destiny, I refuse to let someone dictate my life.”

“Such a rebellious spirit.” He commented, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

“I’m a witch, nothing surprising.” Not all the witches were rebellious obviously since some were good and calm and obedient –I despised them with all my heart.

He nodded his head before his eyes darted back to the book between my hands. “I must say I’m impressed. You managed to sneak out this book without me noticing it.”

“I’m a pro.” I didn’t deny it since there was no need to, this book was unique and obviously he would know if I lied.

“Yet I caught you red-handed.”

This little .

Oh how much I wanted to smack his head and wipe away this stupid smirk of his face. “Are you trying to threaten me, mister? Should I turn you into something ugly?”

This man was a weirdo, I have always thought so. Instead of feeling threatened by me, he giggled, wrinkling his eyes adorably. I mentally face-palmed at my own thoughts.

“You won’t do it.” He said, sure of himself

“And what makes you so sure of that?”

“My guts.”

“Your guts shouldn’t trust a witch.”

“Is it the right moment to make jokes about Bewitched?”

I gasped dramatically. “How dare you compare me to this stupid TV series?” I threw my arms in the air, clearly exaggerating. “I don’t wriggle my nose stupidly like the main character!” He burst into laughter at my exasperation, clapping his hands and sadly for me, it was contagious; I started laughing along with him. “No but seriously, you can’t compare!”

“Fine, I won’t, geez.”

“It’s very much appreciated.”

I put the book on the table as I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying to decide whether I should give it back since it was his to begin with. The usual me would have snapped at him and kept the book, but the me from now, who got a little infatuated with him, was torn between my nature and my conscience.

“Why do you own forbidden books?” I finally asked. Of course I enjoyed reading them, it contained so many spells that I could only dream of, however, the idea of a human owning something that rare and dangerous bothered me.

“I’m not sure?” He rubbed his chin, pondering at the question, “I think it was passed on in my family. My grandmother always loved magic, way before our world changed. I don’t know where she got those books though. My parents didn’t believe in magic at first, so for them those books were of no use, but I was different. My grandma had a huge influence on me. She used to tell me stories, I adored them when I was kid.”

I was suddenly all ears, curious at what his grandma could have possibly told him. “What kind of stories?”

Jimin smiled so lovingly at whatever memories crossed his mind and I almost envied him. There was someone in this world capable of making him smile like this, I wished I could smile like this too.

“Back then, my parents called those stories fairy tales but to me it was so much more. I guess, I took it from my grandma the love for magic. The way she spoke about magic, how she described it, I could only believe her.”

“Your parents didn’t believe her?”

“They called her silly. I’m pretty sure they regret it now seeing how our world evolved.” He rubbed his neck gently before looking back at me. “There is a forest my grandma used to go when she was kid. She said it was filled with beautiful creatures and that this place couldn’t be seen by normal people.”

I didn’t comment, I didn’t want to interrupt him and I wanted to hear more of his grandma who seemed to be so fond of our world. The moment he mentioned a place that couldn’t be seen by normal people, I knew that his grandma was special and that her stories weren’t just a piece of her imagination.

“She told me once that she had met fairies. Some were tall, like human size, and some were small. Whenever they would fly around her, she could feel magic surrounding her.” He chuckled at the memory. “She said something about fairies being malicious and petty. They pulled her hair once because she didn’t approve their saying.”

I actually snorted at that and Jimin seemed to be very satisfied with my reaction. “I can relate; fairies can be very petty. They are beautiful creatures but do not start a conflict with them, they can get really nasty.”

“Sounds like you know what you’re talking about.”

“Sadly, I do.”

“Should I ask who won?”

I smiled innocently and he laughed at that. “Of course you won.”

“Did your grandma told you where the place was?”

“She did, but I don’t remember it. It was in a forest but I don’t remember anymore which one. I should probably ask her.”

“Your grandma is special. Those places exist, and so does the forest, it’s hidden from human’s eyes. Only magical creatures can see or enter the place. Well, some humans did have the right to get in but still.”

Out of nowhere he grabbed my hand, tightly, his eyes shone with so much hope, I already knew what he wanted to say. I chuckled at his eagerness. “You’re not a kid anymore, Jimin.”

“I don’t care. Magic is precious. I wish people could see it. I don’t understand how anyone can hate it, aren’t we all part of this world? I want to be able to see the beauty of this world, fully.”

His words moved something inside me. I had always resented human for their selfishness, for their hatred for my kin, my world, and yet, here was a gentle soul, wishing no more than have a taste of our world. How could I say no?

“Ok.” I whispered, my gaze getting softer as his eyes widened in shock

“Ok?”

“Ok.” I repeated

Jimin couldn’t believe my words and I almost couldn’t believe myself but I wanted to help him, to let him see the world with my eyes. I moved my hand that was still stuck between his hands and gently rubbed his hands. His skin felt soft against my hand and I couldn’t deny the comfort it provided me.

His eyes darted from my face to my hands before looking back at me, a huge smile spread on his lips before he muttered “you’re adorable.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. And don’t fight me, I won’t change my mind.”

I huffed in annoyance or at least I made look like I was annoyed when in fact I was trying to hide my embarrassment. Nobody had ever called me adorable. It was new and disgustingly pleasing –and I didn’t know how to deal with this.

Before I could protest, his phone rang, reminding him that he was supposed to be there, that he had work to do instead of talking to me. He looked at his phone, contemplating the idea of just ignoring the call; I let go of his hands. “You should take the call.”

“Should I? Won’t you disappear if I leave you for a minute?”

“No, I won’t. We have a date to settle, don’t we?”

I couldn’t recognize myself. And it didn’t matter anymore either. All I knew was that I wanted to know more about Park Jimin and his own world.

 

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

Knowing that Jimin was quite famous and busy, I thought it would be hard to set a date for us to meet again, but much to my surprise, he was willing to cancel all his plans –and even his trip to Japan-, just so he could meet me again. Maybe he was eager to see me, or maybe he just knew where I wanted to take him for our date, either way I found myself looking forward for it.

There was no denying, it felt absolutely weird being suddenly so affected, so attracted by a human. You would say it was a completely normal phenomenon for a woman but was it really for someone like me? Ever since Bel took me in, I stopped considering myself as human and it was probably because of it that none of my relationships worked. Not like I tried to make it work. One-night stands, I had tons of them; some probably could have led to something if it wasn’t for my dislike of humankind.

But Park Jimin was different in all possible ways.

Was it because of his eyes? Or was it because of his smile? Or maybe was it the purity of his soul? People just couldn’t help but be drawn in by him and I was no exception. But before I could start developing some annoying feelings for him, I had to make sure that he was the right choice for me. Out of all places I could have brought him for our first date, I decided to achieve one of his dream: to see the world with my eyes.

It was decided that we would meet on Saturday night on the roadside of national road. It probably sounded odd to him –it would to me if I was the one receiving the message, but it was the place I was sure he wanted to be by the end of the day. This road was surrounded by a vast and dark forest which looked unwelcomed to most of humans –nobody liked going around this place, and yet it was one of the most beautiful place on earth. If only they could see.

By the time Jimin joined me, it was already dark outside and the only source of light happened to be my car’s lights. He parked his car beside mine and joined me outside. My heart dropped at his sight, he looked absolutely worn out, but still handsome in his dark blue jeans and white sweater.

“You look terrible.”

“Thank you.” He smiled at me, completely unaffected by my sarcasm.

“Had a rough week?” I felt the urge to hug him and tuck him in bed so he could rest, but of course I held back and simply stared.

“A little bit yeah. I came back from Japan last night.”

“You should have called me! It’s not like seeing me was so urgent! We could have rescheduled!”

“But I wanted to see you.” A cheeky smile spread on his lips as he rubbed his neck. He became suddenly shy but didn’t take back his words anyway.

I stared blankly at him, my brain refusing to properly function as his words slowly sank in. For the first time in my life, I blushed. For the first time in my life, someone actually made me feel important and loved; it was a weird feeling but a rather warm and pleasing one. I could get used to it.

“But why are we here?” Jimin, then, asked, looking around him, squinting his eyes so he could see something.

“Can’t you guess?” I finally managed to say

His eyes widened in shock before excitement overtook him. “I didn’t think you’d bring me here so soon! Isn’t it some sacred place? Can you really bring me inside?”

“Are you worried?”

“A little?”

I chuckled at his honesty. “I can’t even think about dating someone who can’t fully understand my world.”

“So it’s a test.”

“Something like that. You passed the first step.” Truth to be told, I got a little bit anxious at the idea of telling him that it was a test but he took me by surprise once again; instead of running away or lying, he chose to come and see by himself what it was like to be different.

“What was the first step?”

“Well, the place I chose for our first date could have scared you away, but you still came.”

“Oh! I admit, I frowned at your message but I really wanted to see you. And you didn’t strike me as a psycho.”

“Ha! Wouldn’t bet on that.” And I actually laughed at that.

I took his hand and brought it closer to me before putting a bracelet on his wrist. “As I said, usually humans can’t get inside, they can’t see the breach between your world and ours. This bracelet will help you to see.”

His eyes darted between the bracelet and my face and soon enough a huge smile spread on his face, shining so brightly that the night didn’t seem so dark anymore.

“Shall we go?” I asked

“I’m more than ready.”

I smiled in return, intertwining our hands, I pulled him out of the road and deep in the forest.

Jimin didn’t say a word –and didn’t comment about my sudden eagerness for his touch, he followed me, trying not to trip on anything.

Deeper in the forest we got and darker it was. The forest was absolutely calm, almost as if it was an empty forest; no wind, no birds or any other animals for the matter. But of course, it was just an illusion. As we got closer to the breach, I started feeling magic around us and soon enough Jimin gasped and halted in his track.

A small ball of light flew to him and stopped just before Jimin’s nose. I could almost laugh at how astonished he looked. He let go of my hand and observed the little light that swirled around him. Then, many other similar ball of lights appeared around us, growing stronger and stronger before finally exploding, blinding both of us.

I didn’t flinch as I knew exactly what was going on, but for Jimin, it was startling. When he opened his eyes, everything around us changed. Suddenly, we weren’t in the middle of trees, but at the entrance of a clearing. But it wasn’t any simple clearing. In the middle, there was a huge bonfire, people dancing happily around it with some soft music in the background that seemed coming from the sky. I smiled as I looked at Jimin. “Welcome to my world.”

This clearing was a beautiful place, even I couldn’t deny it. However, the creatures that visited this place were all too good, too pure for this world and I didn’t want to taint them with my share of darkness. Oddly enough, they never hated me, despite knowing what I have done.

“It can’t be real.” Jimin muttered, his eyes watered at the sight, he was finally living one of his grandmother’s fairy tale and no words could describe how he felt.

A little fairy suddenly flew to us and stopped just before Jimin. Lin was of the size of my hand, small and cute but definitely petty and vicious whenever she would get upset. Jimin stretched his hand and she landed softly on it; tilting her head, she observed him intensely. I could only imagine what Jimin could feel on this moment, his dream came true after all.

“She likes you.” I said as I noticed how Lin was smiling at him

Lin flew to me and without hesitation tug harshly on a hair strand, making me wince in pain. I deserved that one. “Yes, I know, I broke my promise, but damn! Don’t pull my hair like that!”

“What promise?” Jimin asked

“To visit them more often.”

“Why would you break your promise?”

Lin, completely approved on his question, as she flew back to him and sat comfortably on his shoulder. I almost got annoyed by her sudden friendliness. But could I blame her? Nobody could resist Park Jimin after all.

“I was busy.”

Lin grumbled, unconvinced by my words.

“It’s true!”

“You’re not convincing enough, Eunji.”

“Don’t take her side!”

They freaking giggled at my reaction. It was a really odd sight, my crush being absolutely adorable with a fairy on his shoulder and they even got along.

“Come on, Lin. Stop bothering our guests. We should enjoy Eunji’s presence.” A very soft and melodic voice startled us. We looked to the side to see Efi, an elf. She looked as stunning as ever with her beautiful black hair, porcelain skin and deep blue eyes. “And look at that! She even brought a friend.”

I actually rolled my eyes at that. “Long time no see, indeed. Jimin, this if Efi, the guardian of this place and as you can see by her pointy ears, she’s an elf.”

“It’s an honor to meet you!”

By the way Efi’s eyes shone, I knew she was thrilled by my choice of company. “What a lovely man! Eunji has never brought any of her friends here, especially humans! But I guess you already know that. You must be very special.”

“She saved my life.” I winced at the memory while Jimin only laughed and got closer to me, patting my back. “Oh come on, it’s not a bad memory.”

“Are you kidding me?” I hissed, “You got freaking possessed!”

“And I met you.”

That’s it. Park Jimin was insane.

“Did she now? It’s becoming a habit! You changed a lot.” Efi commented

“Don’t think so.” Before I could add some sarcastic comments, Lin grabbed my cheek and pinched it hard.

You would have punched me to the moon if you were your usual self!

“Don’t tempt me.” I groaned

Efi only smiled and turned to face Jimin. “Welcome to our Sanctuary, Jimin.” As she spread her arms, the balls of lights appeared again, surrounding Jimin, before a soft wind blew caressed his face.

I took his hand once again and led him to the table by the riverside. The water was clear and turquoise filled with shining fishes and of course Jimin couldn’t take his eyes off of the sight before him. But the best was still to come: mermaids. On the deepest part of the river, there was another breach that led to mermaids’ world and I knew they would come. They always did.

“This is unbelievable!” Jimin finally half yelled, excitement overtook him and he seemed to have forgotten all about his tiredness.

“Everything is real.” I smiled. “Look, right there.” I pointed at the rocks at the other riverside. Two mermaids came out of the water and sat there. They waved happily their hands at us, smiling brightly at us, before starting singing.

“Mermaids are real.” Jimin whispered “They are beautiful.”

“Fishes can’t be beautiful.” I muttered, absolutely not jealous.

“Oh come on, Eunji!”

Did Park Jimin actually scold me? I rolled my eyes at him but bit back some sarcastic remarks that were dying to leave my mouth.

“Their voices are so beautiful.”

“They are. But I’d advise you not to cross their path at sea, they would take pleasure to make you sink and kill you.”

Jimin actually gulped at my words and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not all beautiful creatures are harmless.”

“If I get in the water right now, would they try something?”

“Do you have a death wish?” I quirked my eyebrow up at him, judging him hard

“Of course not! I’m just curious.”

Before I could answer him, a white furry fox with red eyes and two tails suddenly appeared on my laps, rubbing its head against my chest. Now, that was someone I was really happy to see.

“A friend of yours?”

I nodded, feeling proud and somehow protective over my little friend. “Yes. This is Sei.”

“He is so cute!”

“He is.” I rubbed his ears gently. “I’m sorry for not visiting you, Sei.” Sei only purred and pressed himself harder against me.

“Can I touch him?”

“You can try.”

And despite my warning, he didn’t hesitate, even for a second. He stretched his hand but stopped far enough, letting Sei time to sniff him, to taste his aura before deciding if the human was worth his attention. And of course he was. Just like any other creature that crossed this man’s path, ended up succumbing to his charms. Sei Jimin’s hand as a sign of approval –sending Jimin into a fits of laughter. Sei jumped from my laps to Jimin’s and let him pet his ears.

“Do all magical creatures come here?” Jimin asked as he rubbed gently Sei’s ears.

“We come here to relax and have fun. I, personally, come for elves’ wine, it’s terribly good. Demons and some other creatures don’t come here though. I’m not even sure they can enter this place, Efi protects it, so I’m pretty sure that creatures with ill intentions wouldn’t be able to get in.”

“Right. I forgot that there are evil creatures and demons in this world too.”

“And I wish for you to never meet any of them.” Suddenly, I felt terribly sad. I was close, once, to some demons and yet, because I knew of their true nature, I couldn’t let them meet Jimin.

“Have you ever met any demon?”

“I have.”

Maybe it was written all over my face that the talking about demons bothered me, or maybe Jimin was just too perceptive, either way, he took my hand and looked apologetically at me. “Sorry. I feel like I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“No. It’s okay, really. Not all of them are as bad as you might think but they aren’t nice either. Maybe one day I’ll tell you more.”

“I’ll wait for it then.”

I smiled back at him. “Sei, keep him company for a while, will ya? I’m going to bring some wine. You can’t leave this place without trying elves’ wine!”

I left them alone, knowing that Jimin wouldn’t stay alone for long, most of creatures here were curious about him, I could tell by their glances. Couldn’t blame them, he was different from other humans.

As I got closer to Efi, I noticed someone else that I haven’t seen in ages: Jin. A huge smile spread on my lips as I arrived at their level. “What a surprise to see you here, your majesty!” Maybe it came out a little sarcastic but he totally deserved it for disappearing for so long –it was ironical coming from me though.

“That was rude.” Efi commented, of course she would defend her king.

Jin, just like Efi, was an elf but he happened to be their king too which made things a little bit more complicated from time to time. But before becoming a king, he was just a foolish elf that loved running the woods and getting himself in trouble –like getting on demon’s territory and observe my training. He was probably the first good creature that I’ve met back then.

“I didn’t expect less of her and I guess I deserved it. Nice to see you too, Eunji.”

“You hid in your damn castle for like what? Two years?”

“I didn’t hide, I was just busy. I didn’t know you would miss me so much.”

“I didn’t.”

Of course I lied and Jin knew it. Nobody could lie to elves, they had the advantage of having this special power, they would know instantly if someone lied to them, but in my case, Jin just knew me maybe a little too well. So he smiled, shamelessly, as he took my hand and rubbed it with his thumb. “I’m sorry, Eunji. You could have called me. I would have come.”

“She’s too prideful, I thought you knew?”

“Stop it.” I groaned in frustration which only amused the two elves. Who said that elves were gracious and nice?

Jin’s attention suddenly someone else and something told me that he saw Jimin. “He’s just like his grandmother.” And for the first time since I have known Jin, I saw him smile sadly.

“Wait what? You know his grandma?!”

To say I was shocked was probably the understatement of the century but then it made sense. All the stories she had told Jimin, and the magical place. “It was here? She came here?!”

“She was just a child when she first managed to sneak in. She was so eager to find fairies and it seems like your little friend other there is exactly like her.”

“He looks happy.”

“He radiates with happiness. How did he manage to fall for someone as grumpy as you?” Efi glanced at me, eyes twinkling with mischief. Damn the elves.

“His aura is extremely pure. I haven’t seen an aura like this ever since his grandmother.”

“I know right! I’m surprised his aura stayed this pure. When I first met him, he was possessed by an evil spirit.”

And just like I thought, my words did surprise them. They glanced at each other before looking at Jimin.

“Odd.” Jin muttered more to himself than to anyone in particular

“It should have left a mark or even a scar, but there’s nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

Jin finally looked back at us but there was something in his eyes that worried me. Why did he look so heartbroken? It was unusual for elves but it was even more unusual coming from someone like him. I glanced at Efi; she knew the reason, I could tell but instead, she decided to leave us alone.

“Jin?”

“I’m fine.”

Who said the elves were the only one to hear someone’s lies? I bit my lip before deciding that he needed comfort more than I did, so I hugged him in the most awkward way I could.

“Is there something you want to ask him?” I muttered as I patted his back gently

“A thousand of things but I don’t think I have any right.”

“He probably doesn’t know what happened between you two. If anything happened. So you can ask, don’t you think?”

“I can’t. But maybe you can.”

It was out of character for me to do something nice for someone, but then again it was Jin we were talking about and I haven’t been really myself for the past week.

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

“Was she happy? When we parted, I wished for her to have a nice life. I wanted her days to be filled with love and happiness and laughs, she deserved it more than anyone.”

Oh. Oh how much this situation got more complicated, but now I understood. Something did happen in this place, between Jin and Jimin’s grandma and by seeing how it still affected Jin, it didn’t end up very well.

“Forget it.”

“No! I’ll ask.”

I let go of him, feeling suddenly extremely tired myself and sad to know that for all those years, not once have I seen the pain behind those pretty eyes. I thought I was a good actress, but Jin proved me wrong, he was by far better than me.

I turned around and spotted the blond head almost immediately –hard to miss, considering the fact that he was dancing around the fire with an elf. Both of them looked happy and were enjoying the moment. The elf put a flower crown on his head and for a moment I thought that Jimin was one of us, one of them; it suited him to be surrounded by magic.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize I was staring until his eyes met mine. Jimin stopped laughing, he stared back, intensely I would add, and my voice got stuck in my throat. My heart was racing in my chest and even my magic reacted to his intense gaze.

Without breaking eye contact, he whispered something to the elf and before I could realize what was going on, she appeared before me and put another flower-crown on my head. Confused, I touched the crown with the tip of my fingers –I was actually scared that my magic would set those poor flowers on fire. But when I raised my head, Jimin stood before me, smiling.

“You’re beautiful.”

And just like that he got me wrapped around his finger.

Gently, he touched my cheek, by then I was completely gone. “Did I pass your test?”

“Yeah. You did.” I couldn’t help but press my cheek a little harder against his hand and smile in return.

“Good. Because I don’t think I’d be able to stay away from you.”

 

 

∞∞∞

 

“Are elves immortal?”

“Not fully immortal. They can live for thousands of years.”

“Sounds like immortal.”

“They die though. It just takes ages.”

“How come they’re so beautiful? So graceful?”

“They’re not.”

“I smell jealousy.”

“I’m going to turn you into a toad.”

“You’re more beautiful to me, Eunji”

 

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

“I already want to see you.”

“Jimin, we had lunch 2 hours ago.”

“So?”

“Creep.”

“Am not. I can’t get tired of your pretty face.”

“So it’s all about my face after all…”

“Yes.”

“You’re awful, sir.”

“And your laugh. And how you would pretend to be annoyed just to hide your embarrassment.”

“No. I’m really annoyed.”

“No you’re not.”

“No, I’m not.”

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

 

“I don’t know whenever I should laugh or feel stalked and freak out.”

“What happened?”

“I just arrived in my office and there are flowers everywhere.”

“You have a secret admirer?”

“Hm. I wonder where my admirer got glitter flowers?”

“Oh.”

“And fairy dust?”

“They’re not so secretive then. They like you.”

“I like them too but how am I going to explain this to my assistant?”

“You’re clever, you’ll find something!”

“You’re so helpful!”

“Always.”

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

 

“Let’s go on a date tonight.”

“Wait, aren’t you supposed to go to a party tonight?”

“But I don’t want to go…”

“Jimin…”

“Oh come on! It’s always the same boring parties, same boring people.”

“Do you want me to come?”

 

 

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

Despite Jimin’s insistence, I decided to come to the party alone. Maybe a part of me wasn’t ready to be seen with him or maybe I just needed more time alone to get ready for whatever was about to happen.

Coming to such a party without the intention of stealing something or someone felt awfully weird, but then, the idea of being with Jimin replaced the weird feelings by fondness. In a very short amount of time, this man managed to completely smitten me; in a way I became someone else –or maybe just the person I was meant to be if it wasn’t for Bel. With Jimin’s help I started opening up to people, to humans and with that came the realization that not all humans were bad and that some of them were completely worth my attention and my help.

“Good evening, Miss. May I have your name?” A young butler asked me as I arrived in the five stars’ hotel where the event was held.

“Lee Eunji.”

He glanced at the guest list and quickly found my name. He smiled as he looked back at me. “M. Park is waiting for you at the balcony.”

I was slightly startled by his words but quickly regained my composure. It shouldn’t have surprised me that Jimin was up to something, after all he was the romantic type of lover and he had always managed to take me off guard. I have never liked surprises or mushy acts, but with Jimin everything felt different.

I smiled at the man before heading straight to the balcony. The hotel was nice and luxurious, just like I expected it to be, no doubt this party was for rich people and for once I could care less about them.

Jimin was staring at the sky when I joined him; he didn’t look at me almost as if he had sensed my presence.

“I feel bad for not being able to see the sky the way it truly is for all this time.”

I smiled at him and got closer. After that night in the forest, I improved the spell on the bracelet so he could keep seeing this world with my eyes.

I grabbed gently his wrist, the bracelet before intertwining our hands.

“I’ve missed so many things.” He whispered, tearing his eyes from the sky, he looked at me. “I’m glad I’ve met you.”

“Stop being so cheesy and let’s go to the party. I’m sure many people want to see you.”

Jimin actually groaned at my words. Out of nowhere he let go of my hand and instead wrapped his arm around my waist, crashing his body against mine. Jimin had always been the touchy person, always brushing my arm, my hand, but he had never tried hugging me –he was probably scared it would make me run away-. It was new and I absolutely adored the feeling of his body pressed tightly against mine. There was no denying, I was helplessly in love with Park Jimin.

Reluctantly I pushed him away, yet, without letting go of his hand. “They’re waiting. Let’s go.”

“But-“ I knew he was about to whine and protest, so I did the only thing I knew would shut him up: I kissed him. It was a peck but it did its work. His eyes widened in shock before he started blinking furiously.

“Did you just-“I cut him again with another peck. “But-“ and another. “ it.” He grabbed my face and crashed his lips eagerly against mine. I couldn’t help but sigh in delight as my hand settled in his hair, tugging it lightly.

My heart was pounding against my chest, I felt so light and so overwhelmed with my own feelings, but it didn’t matter, all I wanted was to enjoy the moment and be with him.

Jimin was the first to break off the kiss, his breathing unsteady, he rested his forehead against mine, his eyes closed. “Please, tell me it’s not a dream.”

I chuckled at his words and pecked his lips once again. “Then, it’s a very nice dream.”

Before Jimin could add anything, someone cleared its throat. Immediately, I took a step back, embarrassed being caught like this; Jimin, on the other hand, looked only annoyed –which was new and honestly very hot.

“Sorry to interrupt you, guys.” I froze on the sport at the sound of an awfully familiar voice. “But Hana is looking for you. Desperately I must say.”

I refused to turn around and face the person, clearly scared of what I would find behind me. Jimin, however, groaned in response. “Can’t you take care of her?”

“No. What am I? Your assistant?” The man scoffed but by the ton of his voice I could tell he was amused. “Go talk to her, she’ll be happy.”

“I don’t really want to see her.”

“It’s her birthday, Jim. Be nice to her, for once.”

I couldn’t imagine Jimin not being nice to someone, so of course I got even more curious about the Hana.

“Don’t worry. Go.” I smiled, reassuring him. “I promise, I won’t leave.”

“Good.” And with that he left me alone with him.

I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, preparing myself for him.

“I must say, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect my little friend having a crush on someone like you.” A sudden hot breath hit my ear and I shivered. He had always known how to push all my buttons but I didn’t move at least not until I felt his hand on my hip, I finally snapped and faced him. “Don’t touch me, Taehyung.”

“Or what? As far as I remember, you have never managed to beat me.” He smirked, absolutely proud of him.

Kim Taehyung was many things; a demon, a monster, a sadist, my worst nightmare, and yet, somehow he became a friend. A very weird friend. Obviously, because of his nature I couldn’t trust him; his love for games and tricks was just too much for me but in my process of becoming a strong witch, he played a big part.

“I can still punch you.”

“I’d probably punch you back.”

“What’s about not hitting women? I mean, you live among humans from what I see, shouldn’t you respect their morals?”

He quirked his eyebrow up at me, looking absolutely amused by my attempt to fight him back. He grabbed a strand of my hair and played with it between his fingers. “You know how I am. From outside I play by their rules but-“

“But you have your own damn rules, I know. I’ve lost to them countless times.”

“So you do remember who’s the boss, kitten.”

“Never met him. But I’ve met some annoying little s like you though.” I almost regretted my words as his eyes snapped red, a very deep red that made me shiver –in fear or excitement, I wasn’t really sure of what I felt.

“Don’t push your luck, kitten.”

“I’m not scared of you, Tae.” I gathered my energy around me, protecting me from Taehyung. He hissed and let go of my hair, his fingers on fire; but of course he got rid of it in a blink of an eye.

His eyes glowed for a moment and I was sure he would attack me to prove me wrong. Instead, his eyes turned back to normal color and he smiled. A genuine smile that was so unusual of him. “You grew up into a fine woman, kitten.” And just like that he disappeared into thin air, leaving me lost and terribly confused.

The hell was that?

I stared blankly at the place where Taehyung stood just a moment ago. Then it hit me. Taehyung knew Jimin, he was his friend and this idea only freaked me out a little more. Jimin really had a problem of attracting all evil creatures to him and even the biggest such as Taehyung.

Without thinking twice, I ran inside the building, I needed to see Jimin, to talk to him. But above anything else I wanted to make sure that he was fine.

Compare to earlier, the main hall got very crowded making it hard for me to spot Jimin. Suddenly, I was pretty much aware that I was alone, surrounded by noisy people when I was panicked. Slowly and probably for the first time in a while, I felt my control slipping from my grip. My magic was buzzling under my skin making it absolutely painful for me and soon enough I couldn’t contain it.

Lights started flickering, slowly at first, nobody even noticed the change, but then it stopped, just for a second as I desperately tried to contain the wave of magic that was about to leave my body. But I lost it. The flickering intensified very quickly but not only that. More magic escaped my body and more the situation got out of control. Furniture, lighting, everything was shaking, glasses exploded all around the place and people screamed in fear.

An arm, suddenly, wrapped around my waist, bringing me against a firm chest.

“Calm down, kitten. Jimin is right there.” Taehyung whispered against my ear, his grip got tighter and I felt his fingers digging into my skin. I hissed in pain and despite my panicked state, I understood what he was trying to do: to distract me from my madness.

“Breath.” I took a deep breath, whining since it was hard, but slowly the flickering stopped.

“You’re doing well.” He said and let go of me.

I wasn’t completely calmed; my heart beat fast but at least I regained control on my magic. I turned around to face him. I had so many questions for him but I didn’t know where to start. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He chuckled and paused for a second, his face turning serious. “But I think our little friends here won’t be able to enjoy their nights with all those shreds of glass.”

“, I completely ruined it, didn’t I?”

“Well. Can’t really blame you, I always have this effect on women.” And I actually laughed at that. “But more seriously, I know you’re upset and worried but Jimin is my friend, Eunji. He’s very likable, I’m sure you’ve noticed. I won’t hurt him.”

“Do you expect me to believe you?”

“It’s legitimate for you to question my motivation but let’s say I’ve known him for a very, very long time.”

I was curious about his relationship with Jimin and maybe if I stick around for too long he would tell me more about it but for now, I had to trust his words. This new Taehyung surprised me, unsettled even. When did he change? I’ve known him for years and not even once he had showed me this side of him.

“You’re weird.”

“Why?”

“You being nice is extremely fishy.”

“You guys being so close is fishy.” Jimin’s voice startled both of us and I actually had to put my hand on my chest to calm me down. “What did you tell her Taehyung? She looks absolutely-“

“I’ve done nothing!” Taehyung raised both of his hands, pretending to be innocent which really didn’t suit his face, so I snorted and he glared angrily at me. “I heard that.”

“You two know each other?” Jimin finally asked

“Yeah. He has been a pain in the when I was younger. I thought I was done with him but now I learn he’s your friend. I think it won’t work between us.” It was a joke, I knew it, Taehyung knew it and Jimin probably knew it too but he couldn’t help but panic and make me feel bad.

“You’re kidding?!”

“Of course I’m kidding. I finally got myself a man, duh.”

 

 

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A/N : 30 pages later....Here comes the first part of this story! 

I hope you liked it!