3

 

∞∞∞

 

After Hana’s death, many things had changed. For instance, it took me longer than expected to recover from the spell. Maybe the spell really drained me of my magic, maybe my emotions clouded my mind, causing some disturbance with my magic. It bothered me but my magic happened to be the least of my problems. Jimin became my priority. Of course, Hana’s death affected his whole family but the drastic change in Jimin’s behavior worried me a little bit more than I wished to admit.

The night Hana died, after we got back from the forest, Jimin cried, leaving both Taehyung and I lost and helpless. None of us really knew how to deal with those feelings and we knew even less how to comfort someone. 

Taehyung’s eyes darted back and forth between Jimin and I and just by the look in his eyes I knew he was about to run away. 

“Don’t you ing dare, you !” I whispered-yelled ready to grab him and force him to stay by his best friend's side.

He left anyway.

I cursed him for leaving, for being a coward. But I did not have time to dwell on his stupid . A loud bang from Jimin’s office startled me and a wave of panic washed over me, thinking about the worst. I rushed inside his office only to find Jimin on the floor, curled up on himself with all his stuff from the desk scattered around him. 

My body refused to move, I was completely rooted to the spot, my heart clenching hard, making it hard to breath. I could not speak, my voice stuck in my throat, I wanted to say something, to ease his pain but I could not. I did not know how. Therefore, I did the only thing I could; I got on my knee and pulled him into my arms, crushing him with all my strength. I wanted him to know that he was not alone.

It did not matter. 

It did not make a difference.

 

∞∞∞

 

The first week was probably the worst. If for some it was easier to cope with the loss, it was definitely not Jimin’s case. 

After that dreadful night, Jimin had completely shut himself out from the world. He did not talk, did not eat, did not sleep. Without a doubt, after Hana’s husband, Jimin was the second most affected by her death. 

Not like I was surprised. 

Jimin and Hana were so much alike in so many ways. It wasn’t only about their love for magic. No, it was more than that. Their mind, their view of the world, the kindness and their love for this world was something proper to them. 

But after the cries and the pain, came anger and nothing in this world could have prepared me for that.

“Leave.” Jimin ordered coldly

“What?”

“I said, leave. I really don’t want to see you right now.”

My mind went blank. I heard him the first time but my brain refused to accept it. It hurt more than I wanted to admit. I had never been scared of rejection –since I was so used to it. Until now. Probably, I had never cared enough for anyone, but hearing those words coming out of Jimin’s mouth, so abruptly, hurt. Deep, very deep, inside me, I knew he did not mean it but a part of me was scared.

“Jimin-“ I tried but failed to find my words. What could have I said anyway? I’m sorry for your loss but you don’t mean your words, right?

“Just go.”

And I left.

 

∞∞∞

 

My mind, my body, everything felt numb after that. And now I knew, finally, what it felt like to be heartbroken. I did not like it a bit. 

“Feelings. It’s just a typical human concept and a pain in the , if you want my opinion” Bel had once said and I could not help but agree. I hated those emotions, I hated being human.

But I hated even more staying away from Jimin.

“I honestly don’t know who look worse, you or Jimin.” Taehyung appeared on the couch, feet on the table. Another time I would have punched him for it. Not now. Instead, I squeezed the blanket around me and slumped into the couch beside him. “That bad huh.”

“Jimin asked me to leave.” I nagged

“He told me to go back to hell too.” Taehyung said casually as if it did not hurt his pride but then his voice got low and was it an ounce of sadness that I heard? “I didn’t like it.”

We fell into a comfortable silence, pondering on what we were supposed to do now. Taehyung took off his feet from the table and sank further in the couch, looking suddenly less arrogant and more upset.

“I’ve never seen him like that.” Taehyung admitted “I’ve met Jimin through many of his lives but it’s the first time I see him so hurt.”

“Is that so?”

“We need to do something about him.”

“I don’t think there’s much we can do.”

“I’ll force my way.”

 “He will kick your back to hell.” I snorted instead of finding a solution to our problem

“I’d love to see him try.”

“You’re already moping around my place just because he told you to go back to hell. Obviously, he’d win.”

He groaned and sulked only harder. Taehyung hated being in the wrong and would usually do everything in his power to prove me wrong, but this time there was no debating, we both knew it. 

I looked at Taehyung almost amused. How did we end up like this? A strong demon like him and a witch like me, absolutely whipped by a human? No, really, it was ridiculous. So I laughed at our own pitifulness. 

"You're finally going mad?" Taehyung looked at me as if I had finally snapped and in a way I did, I guessed.

"You wish." 

"This is ridiculous."  

I saw it coming. No matter how attached Taehyung was to Jimin, he remained a demon and patience was not one of his forte. He jumped from the couch, glanced one last time at me, almost torn between the wish to stay and leave. 

He left anyway. 

I sighed in defeat and buried my face deeper in my blanket. Taehyung was right but it did not make the situation any less painful. 

Somewhere in the room, my phone rang. At first, I did not react, too lazy, too lost in my own mopping to care but then it occurred to me that Jimin could have sent me a message after all. I straightened up abruptly and tried to locate my phone.

It was a message from Minhee which was unexpected. My first thought was how did she get my number but then, I wondered why would she contact me out of nowhere. 

"Hey. I'm sorry if it's weird texting you out of nowhere but we didn't have the chance to talk with everything that happened. Gramps told us about what you did and I wanted to thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for our family." 

My hands were shaking and only after I finished reading her message for the second time that I realized I was crying. Surprised, I touched my wet cheek with the tip of my fingers, brushing it gently. I was getting more and more human with every passing day. 

I wiped my tears and patted my cheeks before dialing Minhee's number. I needed advices and she happened to be my only option for the moment. Hopefully, she would be able to help me.

She did not. But it was worth the shot.

 

∞∞∞

 

"Why the long face?" Chanyeol's deep voice echoed, startling me -which did not happen often, as he slumped beside me, disregarding completely the looks my colleagues gave me. Well, minus Minji who was now perfectly aware of my friendship with our boss.

"Nothing. Just thinking." I answered without really thinking. 

"Sure. But it's not the face of someone who's just thinking. Something has been bothering for the past 2 days. You've been mopping around and a little bird tells me it has everything to do with Park Jimin." 

I wished I was still the snarky girl that would tell him to piss off but one look at his concerned face and all my wishes to punch him flew away. What had you done to me Jimin? 

I sighed in defeat and slammed my head against the desk, making Chanyeol jump in shock beside me.  I kept my face on the desk but only one side so I could look at him. 

"I don't know what to do anymore! This is just so damn frustrating!" I complained ruffling my hair in frustration, being way too loud and attracting even more attention to us but Chanyeol only scowled harder.

"Did you just whine?" He asked surprised

I straightened up and frowned. He was asking for a beating, was he not? And of course, even before I shared a piece of my mind, he already knew what I was thinking about; he raised his arms in defeat before a smile grew on his annoying face.

"Tell me. I heard that someone from his family passed away, so I guess it has something to do with it?" 

I chewed the inside of my cheeks; did I have a right to share something so personal? Especially since they were not very fond of each other? For once, I decided not to think about what would Jimin think and focus on what I needed. I needed to talk, to share my feelings with someone who knew me well enough and Chanyeol was perfect to fill this spot. "Yes. It's his grandma. He was very close to her."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"So am I. She was a very lovely and brave human and she happened to know about my world more than any human I had met. Jimin reminds me of her." I shared more than I intended to, but in the middle of it, I realized that I regretted not having more time with Hana, I wished I had known her better. "Jimin is extremely affected by the loss."

"It's normal."

"I know that!" 

"Then, what's the problem?"

"He asked me to leave. He doesn't want to see me and I'm scared he meant it." 

Chanyeol only hummed, thinking deeply about my words and it only annoyed me. Couldn't he say something comforting? 

"He's mourning and he's in pain and sometimes we say things we don't mean. You know better than anyone that Jimin cares for you, so you should go back to him. And if he tells you to leave, tell him to off and stay. Don't leave him now, Eunji. Not when he's at his breaking point." 

I stared blankly at him, his words echoing inside my head. Why did I need Chanyeol to tell me things I already knew? Why did I leave in the first place? I felt stupid.

"You know, it's kinda disturbing to know that my boss is actually clever." 

"I'm going to fire you."

"Ha! I'd love to see that."

 

∞∞∞

 

I followed Chanyeol’s advice and came back, only to find the door locked. Not like I did not expect it and not like it would stop me from getting inside anyway. But for a second, my resolution wavered.

I pressed my head and my hand against the door, eyes closed. I could only imagine in what kind of state I would find Jimin. I left for only forty-eight hours but it was more than enough for him to drown in his grief. 

I took a deep breath and when I opened my eyes, I was inside his flat.  

It was dark, silent and cold which was such a big contrast to what this place used to be. His flat felt empty and if I did not know better I would have said that some evil creature was lurking in the dark. Except the place was not that empty. I did not need to see Jimin to know that he was nearby, I could feel him. I could feel his aura, feel the pain and sorrow emanating from him.

Jimin was sitting on the floor next to the huge window in the room, his head pressed against it, his eyes glued to the view, he seemed completely lost in his own world, in a world of darkness and pain. 

If he had noticed my presence, he did not say a word. I observed him for a while, thinking about what I could possibly do to bring him back. Could my magic do something for him? Probably not. 

With a flick of my fingers, balls of light appeared in the room, lightening the place enough for me to be able to see his face. The pang in my chest made me breathless; I could not bear to see him in this state after all. 

I sat before him, brought my legs against my chest as I wrapped my arms tightly around them. I wanted so badly to talk to him and I wanted to hear his voice, even a weak hi would be enough, and yet, my own voice got completely stuck in my throat once again. 

"You came back." Jimin whispered, completely startling me

My eyes widened in shock; I did not expect him to be the one to strike a conversation. I cleared my throat awkwardly before replying. "Of course I did, you ." I wanted to sound mad, to make him understand that his words had hurt me but my voice cracked and I sounded sadder than ever. "And just for your information, I'm not leaving. Don't ask." 

"I know."

"Good. But you're still an ."

"I know." 

That night, Jimin poured his heart. I held him tight while he cried, my own heart crying along with him. Minhee was right, it would take time to heal but as long as we were together, we would be fine. One way or another.

 

∞∞∞

 

By the end of the first week, things got better. Or at least it seemed like. Jimin started speaking again, he ate and slept and it was more than enough to comfort me. For the past few days, all I did was work, get back to his place, cook and stay with him. A routine I came to like. I loved spending time with Jimin, even in this state, and funnily enough, I did not miss my own place. 

Probably because Jimin felt like home. 

Just like any other night, I was preparing our dinner, humming a song, I did not pay much attention to my surrounding. But then, my magic pulsated under my skin, a soft tingle and the next thing I knew, warm arms wrapped themselves around my body. Jimin rested his chin in the crook of my neck, squeezing me gently against him. I smiled -without even stopping cooking, and pressed my back against his chest in return. 

"Thank you." He whispered against my skin and gently kissed my shoulder 

"Hm?" 

"For coming back." He kissed my head. "For forgiving my selfishness." And then my neck. "For lightening my world." His lips moved once again to my shoulder while his fingers brushed lightly my arm. "For saving me." And then he took my hand and planted a soft kiss on my knuckles before his eyes found mine. "For giving my grandma a chance to be happy." 

I had completely forgotten all about the cooking, my attention fully on Jimin and his lips and his words. His eyes were so intense, so much sincerity and love in them, I was lost of words but my heart swelled with love and pride. 

"You're worth the fight, Jimin." 

 

∞∞∞

 

The second week, Jimin got more talkative. He apologized probably a thousand times for his behavior –not like I blamed him for it, and got more lively in general. He talked about his memories, precious moments of his life with Hana too. She was truly a wonderful and strong woman and Jimin had definitely inherited of her strength and kindness. He got back at work and started calling his family again –and it did not go as he planned.

"Park Jimin! How dare you ignore your mother for a whole week? Do you want to die? I didn't raise you like this!" Mrs. Park screamed on the phone but by the tone of her voice, no need to be a genius to guess that she was about to cry 

"I know. I'm sorry, mom." 

"You're sorry? You better be, young man! Do you know how worried I was?" Jimin looked helplessly at me, begging me to help him but I only shrugged and smiled. He deserved the beating for once. 

"Traitor." He mouthed at me, to what I stuck my tongue out 

"What did you say?" Mrs. Park said with a rather scary voice 

"Nothing. Sorry." 

"You worried all of us! Was it that hard to pick up the phone? Or even send a message? You could have spared my little heart the worry!" 

"Mom, cut me some slack. It was a hard week for me too." Jimin pleaded, his voice getting a little shaky

Jimin was slowly losing patience too and before he could say something he would beat himself up for, I wrapped my arms around his waist, squeezing him gently against me. I felt him relaxing under my touch and a soft sigh escaped his lips.

“Let me some more time, mom. I promise I will get home soon.”

And he did. But it took him another week to gather the courage to meet them. Maybe he was scared to go back to the house where all his memories led or maybe he was scared to see the same pain on their faces, mirroring his own. All I could do was to make sure that he wasn’t alone to face it. 

 

∞∞∞

 

After one month, something that I could really pinpoint, changed in Jimin. Was it his mood? The aura? I just could not get it. But then, some night he started disappearing of my radar. At first, I did not pay much attention to it, thinking that Taehyung was probably messing with me.

He did not.

As much as I wanted to respect his privacy, I needed to know, because at the back of my mind, I could not help but worry. What if another evil spirit or worse, a demon tried to kill him? I could not take the risk. 

But the truth actually surprised me more than expected. I had spent hours thinking and probably overthinking about the situation but never could I have imagined that the real reason behind Jimin’s disappearance would be a stupid elf. 

I was already surprised enough that Jimin managed to find his way back to the forest but seeing Jin waiting for him made me speechless. How and when did those two manage to get close?

Jin opened his arms widely, welcoming Jimin almost as if he was family and maybe in a way Jin did consider Jimin as a member of his family –even if most of his kin would not approve of it. Jimin greeted him with a broad smile, he looked genuinely happy to be here and hugged him tightly. This was something I was not prepared for. 

I did not say a word and simply observed them from afar. Without a doubt, Jin knew I was here –no matter how good I was at concealing my presence, it was his forest and nobody could escape from him. Jimin, on the other hand, was still clueless and I wanted it to stay like that.

They sat at the place Hana died and my heart clenched hard at the sight. I did not dare to get closer, it was their time, their story, all I could do was to watch from my place.

“They’re healing. Slowly.” Efi muttered as she sat beside me

I nodded my head without really thinking. 

“I’m sorry for last time.” She then suddenly apologized, making me look at her. “I shouldn’t have attacked your…friend.” By the way she said friend, I realized that Efi had a hard time accepting that a demon could actually be nice. “I felt your presence that night, but this demon isn’t some weak one and feeling him in our forest just made me lose all control.”

“It’s fine. Taehyung does have this effect on people most of the time.” I admitted

“I realized only later why he had to be with you that night.” Her gaze got incredibly intense. Her eyes had always been deep like an ocean and at that moment they seemed darker and deeper. “The spell you used, it was dangerous, I hope you know that.”

“It wasn’t dangerous.” I protested

“Yes, it was. If the demon didn’t help you, it could have drained you from your magic and then, your life would have been at stake too.”

I had nothing to say to defend myself. Obviously I was aware of the risks but maybe I did not weight it enough. And did it even matter? It did not and Efi knew it too because suddenly she smiled.

Efi's eyes shifted back to Jin and Jimin, thinking deeply - I was not used to see her so concentrated on something. She frowned and her eyes glowed brightly. 

"Are you going to tell me what bothers you or I must guess?" I finally snapped, curiosity getting the best of me. 

"How well do you know Jimin?" She asked, her eyes glued to Jimin's back 

I frowned in return, her question not making any sense. "Well enough to decide that I want to be with him?" 

"Not enough." 

"Mind to share a piece of your mind? I can't read minds you know?" 

She looked at me and her eyes came back to their natural color before a reassuring smile spread on her lips. "Jimin's soul. Didn't you notice? I have been observing for the past weeks. I couldn't tell at first what bothered me but then I saw it. Can't you see the color of his soul?" 

My scowl got only deeper at her words. At first, I did not understand and got even annoyed, but then, I glanced at him and I knew exactly what she meant. 

"You see it too, right?" 

"Yes. A human's soul is usually baby blue but his is a warm orange." 

"I think, your little friend is more important than he seems to think and it might explain why evil is so attracted to him. His soul is extremely pure and they want to corrupt it." 

That would explain a lot but one question was still at the tip of my tongue, a question I did not dare to ask because I was too scared of the truth but Efi knew me better than I expected. 

"If I didn't know better I'd say he's an angel." Efi beat me 

"That's absurd." 

But by the look Efi gave me, I realized that maybe she was right, after all she had lived for way longer than I. But why would Jimin be an angel and live as a human? Before I could come up with an answer, I saw movement from where Jin and Jimin sat; they were looking at us. 

Jin only smiled –of course he knew everything and had probably heard everything we said too, while Jimin looked confused for a moment before rubbing his neck awkwardly. I expected him to be at least a little bit mad at me for following him but he did not seem to mind. Jin patted his back and pushed him lightly in my direction. 

“Hi.” Jimin stumbled and I stretched my arms to catch him before he would hurt himself. 

“Why are you so nervous?” I asked sincerely confused

“Because I went behind your back and worried you again?” He replied unsure and yet gave me this sheepish smile that I could not help but find adorable.

“I’m not mad though. I’m just surprised to see you with this stupid elf.” I did not mean to pick on Jin but I could not pass on the chance to fight him. To what Jin sent a flying kiss in my direction, making me shudder in disgust –not really. “How did you find the way?”

“I’m not sure? I just wanted to come here. I think I walked for hours before actually finding the place. Or more like Jin had found me.” Jimin glanced at the elf, smiling fondly, before looking back at me. “He’s a nice guy.”

I had a hard time not sharing a piece of my mind about how nice Jin could get but seeing Jimin’s happy face stopped me from being mean. Jin must have felt my intentions because he grinned before appearing by my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“You see, Eunji is my friend but at the same time, she hates my guts.” Jin explained

“We have a love-hate relationship.” I admitted, “But I’d say I hate you more than you think.”

“You can’t lie to me. I know you care.” He poked my cheek playfully before giving me one of his most beautiful smile.

Yeah, ok, he was right. 

“Now. As much as I like having both of you here, I think you should probably head back home.” Jin suggested but then he looked more seriously at Jimin. “There’s something I want you to have.” He handed him Hana’s ring, his ring. “It was hers. Now I feel like it should be yours.”

 

∞∞∞

 

They say time heals all wounds. I wondered for a while who had first said that, because truly, I had a hard time to believe those words. After two months of mourning, Jimin did get better; the pain had slowly faded away, but the scars were there and from time to time Jimin would have his relapse. Jimin would get home and snuggle close to me in the bed, just seeking for my warmth, without a word. I got used to those moments; I would simply let him stay with me, my arms wrapped tightly around him.

He smiled more and after a while he started flirting by messages again –not like I needed it to like him, but it still made my heart flutter. There was no doubt, Jimin was healing, but this loss had left an ugly scar in his heart and no magic could help it.

Jimin sighed for the tenth time that night, tossing around on the couch beside me while I was desperately trying to catch up with the report from a meeting I couldn’t attend. For about twenty minutes, I tried to ignore him, so badly but with his tossing he would randomly push my thighs with his legs, or brush his arms against mine; working at his place was a very bad idea. 

“Fine. What’s wrong?” I ended up asking frustrated and slammed the report on my thighs, before I looked his way, “You better have a valid reason.”

Jimin stopped moving and immediately regretted being a little bit annoying, his eyes told me he was sorry, but after dating him for a while, I learnt to understand him and something was really bothering him otherwise he would never disturb me from my work. Almost.

“I’m worried for Hyori.” He admitted with a long and deep sigh. “Minhee called me again. It has been two months and her situation got worse.”

“Her situation?” 

“After Hana’s death, she got really quiet and recently she stopped talking.”

I frowned at his words, absolutely confused at Hyori’s behavior. Why would the little girl stop talking? But then, I realized that maybe the mourning process did not work the same way for everybody –I really lacked on this field-. 

“I didn’t know they were close.” I began, “But then, seeing how Hana loved her family, I guess, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Jimin actually smiled at my words and drew up closer to me. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure Hana shared her stories with Hyori. You saw how she loves magic, I’m sure it’s Hana’s doing.” 

“So you think, Hyori, in her sadness decided to stop talking?”

“Actually, Hyori had an appointment with a doctor and it was his opinion.”

I snorted despite the gravity of the situation. Of course doctors had been doing their jobs as well as they could, but as a witch who had many other ways to help people –not like I used it, I could not take them seriously. 

“So, what did he advice? Therapy?” 

“Something tells me you’re not fond of doctors.” Jimin chuckled before nudging me lightly in the stomach. “He asked her to be patient. To give her some space but make sure that she’s loved.”

I was so ready to give a piece of my mind and make a snarky comment but his answer took me off guard. I did not expect the doctor to be actually wise enough in his choice of words but for once I had nothing to add. 

“Despite his advice, Minhee can’t help but be worried and I’m quite concerned too. What if we missed something? God I want to help but I don’t know how.”

I did not know how too.

Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and pulled me with one swift move against him, leaving me no time to yell in surprise or react –not like I minded, really, but I pretended to be offended as I lightly punched his chest, before completely giving in. I hugged him back and settled comfortably in his arms. I knew he needed it and I probably did too. 

“I wish I could help, but even my magic has its limit. There’s nothing I could do to force her to speak.” I posed for a moment, to think through before adding, “Without hurting her at least.”

Jimin tightened his grip around my body and I knew that this subject would trouble him for as long as we did not find a solution.

 

∞∞∞

 

I did not think it could get worse for Hyori but it did. Sadly.

Barely one week after Jimin shared his worries, and during one of our many lunch date, he received a call from Minhee. Even if I sat in front of Jimin, I still could hear the young woman’s worried and shaky voice. No doubt, something had happened and Jimin’s deep frown only confirmed my thought. 

“I’ll go. Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing worth your worry.” Jimin reassured her as best he could. He hung up and for a moment he simply stared at his phone, thinking deeply. “I know we’re supposed to finish our date but-“

“It’s fine. Where do you need to go?” I interrupted him. No needed to be a genius to guess that it was about Hyori. 

“Hyori’s school called. Her teacher got worried for her, she refused to eat. It never happened till now.”

“Let’s go.” 

And it was just like Jimin said. We found Hyori waiting on a bench in the hall of her school, looking lifeless and those eyes that used to be so lively not so long ago, scared me by how empty they were. Emotions, feelings, it was sometimes hard to understand, to experience, but seeing this little girl in such state actually pained me.  I could not even start imagining how Jimin felt. 

Jimin stopped at the entrance, absolutely tensed at the sight of his niece. I did not need to look at him to feel his anxiety, it emanated from his body. 

“Go.” I put my hand on his arm, bringing him back from his contemplation. He glanced at me, worry and hurt written all over his face. “She needs you. After all, you’re her favorite uncle, aren’t you?”

Jimin only nodded his head and quietly approached the little girl, his hands curled into a fist. But the moment Hyori raised her little head and looked at him, he lost all of his composure, kneeled before her as he grabbed gently her hands into his. 

“Hyori…Baby, what happened?” Jimin croaked, unable to contain his emotions any longer. Not when his favorite baby girl looked at him like he was some stranger. He could not bear it.

But no answer came from Hyori. 

“Hyori. Talk to me, please.” Jimin begged her

I feared that Jimin would fall apart before her, seeing how weak his voice got and how desperately he held her hands. And once again, his attempt to make her speak had failed. Jimin buried his face in his hands, looking absolutely devastated on the floor, a light sob escaped his lips and my own heart broke at the sight. 

Maybe it was the begging or maybe it was the sight of Jimin’s tears, but Hyori reacted. No words escaped but she got up from the bench and wrapped her tiny arms around him. It was a weak move, her arms were shaky but it was enough for Jimin to raise his head, eyes filled with tears, and look at her. 

“I’m sorry.” Jimin whispered before embracing her tightly.

In a way, it was a beautiful sight but it did not make it any less painful. I had to look away before they affect me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before getting outside; I needed fresh air to gather my thoughts. 

I had made up my mind. I needed to find a proper solution to help Hyori.

 

 

 

∞∞∞

 

 

It turned out that help a little girl to recover from her overwhelming emotions was harder than I thought. Not like I should have been surprised in the first place, seeing how hard it was to help Jimin who was a grown up adult. 

One week later and I still had nothing. I spent hours of my free time, doing my researches, contacting people and even seeking help from the elves, but nobody had an easy solution to my problem. 

“You can always erase all her memories of Hana if it gets out of control.” Efi suggested the night I came for their help.

“That’s a very bad idea.” Jin disapproved immediately and it was probably the first time since I had known them that I heard Jin scolding her. What a sight. He looked at me and added, “Don’t even think about it. It can be a solution but it’s not permanent. One day she will realize what you’ve done and it will cause even more problems.”

“I’d never do something like that! I know how precious those memories are for her. For all of them. I know it damn well.” 

“How about bringing her here?” Jin was the one to suggest this time. “It helped Jimin.”

“Jimin is an adult and I think he knows how to deal with his emotions.” Jin looked doubtful at me. “Most of the time.”

I sighed in frustration at the memory. Maybe Jin was right. Maybe I should bring Hyori to their forest, to make her see the wonders of this world in hope that it will give her the courage to express herself and to feel better. 

But then, something unexpected happened.

One night, instead of going straight to Jimin’s place, I had to stop at my own place to grab some more clothes –at this point I really should have considered the idea of moving in with him. While going through my closet, a huge wooden chest with a Celtic symbol on the lock grabbed my attention. I had completely forgotten the existence of this chest that held an ocean of memories, of my past with Bel. 

I put my clothes back in the closet and instead I sat comfortably on the floor and pulled the chest out of the closet. With a swift movement of my hand, it opened. The top of the chest was covered with a red fluffy blanket that I used to wrap around my body whenever I sat at the porch of the house in the forest. Then, there were different crystals, magical stones and many other accessories. But what mattered the most laid at the bottom: three books. The first and probably the last present Taehyung gave me.

“Here. Read something useful for once.” Taehyung said almost angrily and before I could even understand why the hell he was angry with me; he threw books on my legs.

I shrieked, surprised by their heaviness, my eyes darted back and forth between Taehyung and the books.

“What is it?” I stuttered. Taehyung, as a demon was a mystery to me. Sometimes he would seem almost friendly, sometimes I was his sworn enemy. Now, I seemed like some parasite and yet those books looked definitely like a gift from him.

“Read them.”

I the old leather cover gently, a small nostalgic smile on my face. How many nights did I spend reading those books? It was the best present Taehyung could have ever given me. 

I stopped abruptly. Hyori loved magic, it was undeniable. Those books had helped me to go through hard times, so maybe and I almost prayed for it, they could help –save, someone’s life once again.

 

∞∞∞

 

I did not warn Jimin about my plan, not even Minhee. Maybe it was unwise but at the same time I did not want to give them false hope, not again. 

One night, I came back from work straight to the Park’s house, surprising them all with my impromptu visit. 

“Eunji! What a lovely surprise!” Mrs. Park had said, clapping her hands together, “Come in! Come in! Are you staying for dinner?” She looked maybe a little bit too enthusiastic at my presence.

“I thought it was time for me to pay you a little visit.” I explained –which was not that far from the truth. “And I happened to miss your little girl.” And after a little of thinking, “And your food.”

Mrs. Park laughed at that before taking the bag of groceries. She eyes curiously the second bag, the one with the books.

“They’re for Hyori.” 

Her face got sadder at the mention of the little girl. “She’s in the living room. She has been staring at the TV for one hour. I hoped that some cartoons would distract her but-“ she could not finish her sentence, she shook her head from one side to another before looking back at me, “There’s nothing we could do.”

“Don’t give up on her. I can’t imagine how hard it must be. But don’t give up.” 

“Oh dear. We love our little girl, that’s why it’s so heartbreaking to see her shut her down from the world. Just like her uncle did.” 

Yeah, but her uncle had probably more will-power I wanted to say, instead I only nodded my head and followed her in the house.

Just like Mrs. Park had said, Hyori was sitting on the couch, her legs hidden under a white fluffy blanket, she stared at the screen but her mind seemed to be somewhere else.

It was time to try and to pray. 

“Hello Hyori.” I greeted her, “Mind if I join you?”

Of course I got no answer –not like I expected any, but at least she nodded her head and looked at me. I sat beside her and patted the blanket, loving the feeling of it under my touch. “Now that’s the best fluffy blanket I’ve ever seen. Luck you.” 

Without a word, Hyori spread the blanket on my legs, sharing it without a single hesitation which made me smile fondly at her. Maybe I had a chance after all. 

“I brought something for you.” As I said those words, I took the books of their bag and put them on my thighs. 

I felt her shifting by my side, getting a little closer to have a proper look at the cover. 

“You see, those books are precious to me and they are very special.” I brought the bigger one closer to her and showed her the cover with a symbol of the tree of life on it. “When I was younger, I was a very curious girl you see. I wanted to know what kind of creatures exist in this earth. So one day, a friend of mine gave me those books. Are you curious to see?” She nodded and I couldn’t help but smile. It was a small victory after all. 

Instead of opening the book at its first page, I opened it in the middle, knowing very well what kind of creature it would show. It was a picture of phoenix. At first, it was a simple yet beautiful drawing of it, but as we looked at it, it started moving. The phoenix straightened, spreading its wings, shaking its head, and then it moved inside the page, going up and down and then from one corner to another. By now Hyori had grabbed the book, absolutely in awe before it. But then, a wild and loud shriek startled her and made her drop the book back on my laps. The phoenix had stopped moving just in the middle of the page and cried. 

“Amazing right? I had the same reaction the first time.” My smile grew only bigger because now Hyori was completely drawn by the book and her eyes got some lights back in them. “Do you want it?”

She nodded her head eagerly and stretched her arms to take the book. I watched her looking intensely from one page to another, creatures coming to life, making noises. But then, she froze, her eyes glued to the page she opened: a white fox with red eyes. Hyori stared at the drawing of the little fox for a while, mesmerized by those eyes, by the symbol of a crescent moon and by its white fur. Would it make her happy to see a real one? 

Sei. 

The air inside the room got a little chillier, a soft wind blew our faces without windows being opened and the next moment a white fluffy fox appeared on the table before us. 

“Hi there.” I waved my hand almost cutely which made the little creature frown upon my odd behavior. “Hyori, this is Sei, a friend of mine. Sei, this is Hyori, Jimin’s niece.”

Sei’s frown –can a fox even frown, deepened but then he sniffed the air and he realized that the whole house smelled like Jimin. He scrunched his nose before slowly getting closer to the couch.

“What is that?!” Minhee’s voice echoed from behind. Surely seeing a white fox with two tails and red eyes was an unusual sight and maybe a little bit shocking.

Sei growled in reply but one glance for me was enough to silence him. I looked at Minhee, “A friend.” I need your help.

Sei turned his head, huffing, before finally looking back at Hyori. He looked at her little form and in less than five seconds he shrunk to the size of a kitten. He jumped on Hyori’s laps and looked her straight in the eyes, testing her aura just like he did with Jimin before. And then, while Hyori was too busy to stare, he her nose and then her cheeks. 

Sei had a thing for this family and I could not blame him for that.

My magic suddenly acted up under my skin, warming me. Jimin was nearby. The moment I turned my head, he stood beside his sister, looking absolutely surprised to see me at his parents’ place but then his eyes shifted to Sei. If his presence surprised him, he did not say a word and I was thankful for that.

I stood up for my place, deciding that it was time to leave some space for both Hyori and Sei –it seemed like Sei would not leave that soon her side anyway. I joined Minhee and Jimin at the entrance, happier than when I got here.

“Is that Sei?” Jimin asked even if he already knew the answer

“Yeah. Seems like Hyori likes foxes.”

“It has two tails.” Minhee stated the obvious. “And red eyes.”

“He’s a magical creature, Minhee. You have nothing to worry about.” 

“Hyori seems happy.” Jimin added

I glanced at the little girl. Indeed, she was.

Minhee sighed in defeat. If her brother was absolutely comfortable at the idea of a white fox near Hyori, then she knew there was nothing to worry about. Relief washed over me to see that she had no objection to Sei’s presence.

“Mom? Can I keep him?” Hyori’s voice silenced all of us. 

Hyori had just talked. Her first words after such a long time. 

Minhee’s eyes watered fast and before I had even time to process the whole thing, she started weeping, her hand covering as she tried not to sob louder. Jimin, on the other hand, stayed silent, his face unreadable. I could not tell whenever he was shocked or touched or something else. But then, he looked straight into my eyes and with such intensity, I could not hold his gaze.

The hell was that?

Hyori lifted Sei –who was now light as a feather, and approached us, her eyes shining brightly almost as if Sei’s presence had erased all trace of pain. The little girl looked absolutely ecstatic and hopeful that her mom would say yes. And of course she did. Minhee forgot all about her previous fears, her daughters talked. I, on the other hand, stared suspiciously at Sei before remembering a handwritten note in the book at his page. Their presence heals broken souls. 

Thank you.

 

The night ended up being more than agitated. Mrs. Park had probably blessed me for at least ten times for helping them at so many occasions –not like I minded, really, but all the attention made me uneasy. Minhee hugged me at least twice through the night while Jimin. Well, Jimin on the other hand, kept quiet through the night and it bothered me a little. Shouldn’t he have been just as happy as the others? Sometimes, Jimin’s mind was a mystery to me.

By the end of the gathering I decided to check on Hyori, only to find Jimin in her room, watching her soundly sleeping with Sei curled at her feet. I could not help but smile at the sight. This family had a special bond with magic and thanks to Hana, one day Hyori would pass this love to her own children. 

I wrapped my arms around Jimin’s waist from behind, my chin resting in the crook of his neck. 

“I wonder who adopted who.” I whispered, my eyes glued to the bed with a fond smile on my face.

Jimin did not budge at all or said a word, instead he turned around and took my hand. Was it the moment for me to start seriously worrying? He gave my hand a gentle squeeze before pulling at my hand and leading me out of Hyori’s room. 

“Jimin?” I croaked and I cursed my voice for betraying my emotions. 

We did not go far. He halted before a door with his name on it. Without a word, he got us inside and I realized that I had never stepped in his room before tonight. It was clean –I guessed Mrs. Park kept it clean in case Jimin would want to sleep at home, and looked like a typical teenager room except from the bookshelf around his bed, it was filled with books but also trophies.  

“Eunji.” Jimin finally said but his voice was awfully quiet

“Yes?” 

Jimin seemed to hesitate before finally getting closer to me. He took once again my hands and brought them closer to his lips before finally kissing my knuckles. It was so soft and the feeling of his lips on my hands sent shivers down my spine. What was he trying to do? 

“I hope you know that you’re the most interesting, wonderful woman I have ever met.” He started, his eyes back on my face, the intensity of his gaze made me feel terribly weak. “I have been thinking about it for a while now and I think I came to terms with my feelings after my talk with Jin.”

My own voice got stuck in my throat and I was not sure of what I could actually say, so instead I let him do the talking. 

“I mean; I’ve been obviously terribly attracted to you from day one. From the moment I caught you red handed in the library.” Jimin chuckled at the memory and his hand moved from my hand to my face as he my cheek. “You acted so tough at first but look at you now? Snarky yet hopelessly mushy.”

“Excuse you but I think you’re mistaking me for you right now!” I protested half offended, nevertheless I smiled because he was absolutely right.

He pulled me closer to him and then his forehead rested against mine, his eyes closed, he exhaled into my lips, “I’m so glad you saved me that night.” He kissed my forehead before adding, “I’m so glad I had the chance to meet you again after that night.” Then, his lips brushed lightly my eyes. “I’m so thankful for everything you did for me, for my family. So I want you to know that I love you Lee Eunji.”

I did not know who moved first, but when our lips connected, my heart exploded with joy and so much fondness, I just could not contain my own feelings any longer. I desperately reached for his neck, bringing him even closer to me, wanting to feel him with every fiber of my being. I was absolutely lost in his touches, in the feeling of his lips against mine but I still realized that I wanted Jimin in my life forever and I wanted him to know it too. Despite being absolutely overwhelmed with his kisses, I managed to break free and grabbed his face between my hands. 

“I love you too.”

 

∞∞∞

 

Minji slammed a magazine on my desk as hard as she could, startling me. I stared first at the magazine –it felt like an awful Deja vu, wondering what it was about, before actually looking at the young woman who looked positively pissed. I half wondered what bothered her –a little bird told me it had everything to do with her discovering I was a witch. 

“For how long are you planning to ignore us?” Minji said, her arms crossed over her chest and a very deep scowl on her face.

“What are you talking about? I see you every day.” I feigned innocence

“And she’s playing dumb. I can’t believe it.” Soojin voice echoed from behind us and the next thing I knew, she rolled her chair to my desk. “You’ve been avoiding us ever since this little accident.”

“I am not avoiding you. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Soojin glanced at Minji with a knowing look. A look that announced nothing good for me. However, what came next took me completely off guard. Lights started flickering on the whole floor. At first, it was barely noticeable, but the more I stared suspiciously at the two women and more the flickering intensified. I looked at the lights and then back at the Minji who smiled dangerously at me. 

“Oh you’ve to be kidding me.” I sighed dramatically as my whole body relaxed. How dumb and blind was I all this time for not noticing something so obvious? Minji was a damn witch too. “How?”

The flickering stopped and Minji rolled her sleeve to show the Celtic mark on her wrist. I recognized the sign, it was the one of the biggest and probably most important coven of white witches. 

“I must say, you hid your identity really well. If it wasn’t for the accident, I would have never guessed that you’re a witch.” Minji admitted. “I guess with time, we all got really good at concealing our identities.”

“And I never cared anyway.” I approved, “So if you’re a witch, then what are you Soojin?”

The young woman smiled and tied her hair in order to reveal her pointy ears. An elf. Another damn elf. “.” Was my first reaction but then I remembered clearly Jin’s words, they were not allowed to leave their forest. “Why are you among humans? I thought you elves aren’t allowed to leave-“

“The forest? Yeah, we’re not. But I fell in love and chose to live a mortal life.” Soojin cut me in my questions. “At least I pretended to be human.” 

By the way her eyes got sad, it did not take me long to put everything together and know the end of her love story. 

“How long?” 

“The love of my life died twenty years ago.”

“And you stayed? Alone? All this time? This is insane. You should go back to the forest, to your people.”

“You know very well that I can’t. I left despite it being forbidden. They will never take me back.”

And maybe twenty years ago it would have been the case but something told me that Jin would not let a poor soul alone, not after what he went through. I grabbed her hand gently and smiled at her. “You really should go back. Things had changed. It might be hard but it will be better than to stay forever alone.”

Before I could tell her more about my thoughts on the matter, my phone rang. It was a message from Chanyeol.

Come to my office.

As much as I wanted to catch on with girls, now that I knew that they were magic too and that I had nothing to fear, I could not ignore Chanyeol either. “Have to go. The boss wants to talk.”

“Is he magic too?” Minji wondered 

“No. He’s just another idiot I saved.” It could have sounded mean if it was not for the smile and the look of fondness on my face.

But once I actually got inside his office, I was welcomed with a question I did not expect from him.

“When was the last time you had holidays?” Were Chanyeol’s first words to me while I barely stepped inside his office.

“Hello to you too. And I don’t know? I took three days off like last month?” 

“Yeah but what’s about holidays? Real one?”

“Is it relevant?”

“Yes!” 

Something about Chanyeol’s behavior felt absolutely fishy. Chanyeol had always been a bad liar whenever he tried to hide something from me –in business it was another story, but right now, he looked uneasy as he kept rubbing his neck nervously. And something else had grabbed my attention: a rest of fairy dust on his hair. Something had definitely happened in there.

“Spill it.” I demanded

“What?” 

“Chanyeol.” I warned him, “You’re hiding something and don’t even try to deny!”

“Jimin called!”

“Did he now?”

Chanyeol relaxed almost instantly now that he had spilled the bean. He put his elbows on his desk and his head against the palms of his hands, rubbing his temples. “I’m going nuts with you two.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the fact that you date terribly scary guys.”

“Jimin? Scary? In which world?” 

Chanyeol only rolled his eyes at my attempt of being funny. I learnt only later that maybe Jimin could get scary whenever he wanted something.

 

∞∞∞

 

Just like many previous times, Jimin was waiting for me at the entrance of my work place, except this time he looked way too smug and proud of himself. I quirked a brow at him, arms crossed over my chest, ready to scold him as I approached him. 

“You.” I poked his chest, “You are in trouble, mister.” I warned him. Of course I did not know yet what he had done but seeing how Chanyeol looked annoyed, there was no doubt that Jimin had prepared something. 

“Hi babe.” Jimin smiled cheekily at me before wrapping his arms around my waist and bringing me closer to him. “Why the gloomy look?” Before I could even think about an answer, he kissed the pout from my face away. 

I could not even say that I was surprised by how easily he managed to control me, it should have annoyed me but the smile offered me, had me melting completely. I sighed in defeat, my arms raised in surrender.

“You’re a terrible boyfriend, just so you know.” I commented

“How so? I think I’m the perfect boyfriend to be honest!”

“Are you now? Then, can you explain me what’s this all about?”

 “Chanyeol told you to take holidays, right?” He got suddenly calmer 

“He mentioned it, yes. So?”

“You took them right?”

“Maybe.”

“Eunji.” 

Since he decided to be all mysterious and annoying I decided to trick him with his own game. “Do I want to know why Chanyeol had fairy dust in his hair?” I finally asked –and ignored his question, as I remembered this detail. 

“Actually, we’re going late so how about you get in the car and I’ll tell you the rest later?”

“Park Jimin!”

He leaned and pecked my lips to silence me –with success I must add.

“Get in.” He smiled and pushed me gently towards his car

By the tone of his voice, it was clear that he would not say a word unless I get in the car. 

“I’m not giving up.” I warned him as I got inside the car

“I’d be disappointed if you did.” Jimin chuckled and closed the door behind me

We drove for about ten minutes in silence –not like I was sulking in hope to make him talk. I observed him from the corner of my eyes, trying to find something that would make him crumble. But Jimin knew me and understood me better than expected. My sulking did not faze him; it was quite the opposite since his grin only widened.

“You’re so frustrating!” I finally gave in, “Are you going to tell me where are we going?”

“No.”

“No?” I repeated incredulous. “Fine. Maybe you can tell me how did you exactly threaten my boss?”

Jimin laughed at that, absolutely amused with my question and probably the story he was about to tell me. 

“Chanyeol? Let’s say a little friend helped me to convince him.”

It was not hard to guess who he was talking about since he didn’t know many magical creatures –creatures that would be able to go unnoticed by most of humans. Fairies were the only one and knowing how close Jimin got to Lin, it was obvious she was the one who helped him.

“Oh my god, Jimin! You’re evil! Fairies can be so damn nasty! You could have just asked nicely!”

“He hates my guts!” He protested

“And he’s my friend!”

“That’s why Lin only showered him with dust!”

“Unbelievable!” I sighed, “So, where are we going?”

“Nice try.”

He winked playfully at me before looking back at the road. Once again, I failed with my attempt. At least I tried.

I hissed, defeated, arms crossed over my chest, there was nothing I could do except look through the window and let him drive. I peeked at Jimin and since he was not looking my way, I gathered my magic, ready to use it.

“Don’t.” Jimin warned me, his voice got terribly low

“What?” I feigned innocence, blinking innocently at him. Yet, I had to admit that I was surprised and amazed he caught me. It seemed that Jimin became even more affected by magic.

“Don’t even think about using your magic. Just wait and see.”

“Fine.”

 

**** 

 

I expected Jimin to bring me to maybe Jeju or another romantic place but the road he took once in airport area confused me a little. Instead of going to the usual car park, he took a road that seemed reserved to probably some VIP –I had forgotten that Jimin was part of those people.

My surprise got only bigger when he drove straight to the take-off runway. I frowned at the road and glanced worriedly at Jimin.

“What are you doing?”

Jimin did not answer my question, instead he parked the car just near a jet. A freaking private jet. I did not dare to speak or to breath, realization hitting me like a truck. Jimin was the first to react, he got outside of the car, spoke to some men, before opening my door and stretching out his hand for me to grab.

“Cat got your tongue, babe?” 

I grabbed his hand tightly, ignoring his question purposely –and mainly because I had no words to describe how I felt, and got out of the car. 

Jimin owned a freaking private jet. 

I wondered for a moment how many things I still did not know about Jimin. Not like him owing a private jet changed anything but it would have nice to know in advance so I would not look like a fish, staring with wide eyes at the plane. 

I coughed, quickly regaining composure and yet, I could not help but glance at Jimin, judging him hard.

 “What?” He asked as if it was not a big deal

“No.” I finally said “I’m just glad I save your hot that night. I get to travel in a freaking private jet! What a life man!” 

Jimin stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter. 

“You’re awful.” As he said that he slapped playfully my

 

**** 

 

 

Our destination was definitely not Jeju.

The flight was long, too long for my liking but I could not possibly complain when I had everything I needed on this jet: nice food, wine, comfortable seats that could turn into bed. Everything was perfect and Jimin’s presence definitely distracted me from the long hours of flight. 

By now it was obvious that we were outside of Korea and I was dying to know where we were about to land.

The moment the jet landed, Jimin turned his head to me, a huge grin plastered on his face. “We’re here. Almost.” He got up from his place and took a blindfold out of his bag. 

“Seriously? A blindfold? You know I can just use my magic to locate ourselves?”

“Yes. But you won’t spoil the surprise, will you now?”

I huffed but gave in anyway.  

Jimin got us inside a car – that I could tell even without seeing, and even once inside, he refused to take the blindfold off, supposedly it would ruin the surprise. 

This man would be the death of me.  

But even without being able to see my surroundings, my magic kept responding to everything in this place. The only two times a place affected so much my magic were the forest where Bel trained me and the forest Jin ruled over. I did not know that there was another place on this planet that could have such effect. 

The air around it felt eerie and sweet and filled with pure magic. Even with the blindfold blocking my view, I still could distinct the colors of this place, it was so bright but warm, I could not wait to see it with my eyes. 

But even in this state, I enjoyed the one-hour long trip. It could have been long if it was not for all the magic in the air that got me completely fascinated. This place was by far more magical than the two forests, it was undeniable. 

When the car came to halt, Jimin slid his hand into mine, intertwining our hands before leading the way. I stumbled once out of the car but Jimin was quick to pull me closer to him and slid his arm around my waist to support me. 

"We're almost there." He whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my skin.

After a short walk, Jimin finally let go of my hand and undone the blindfold. 

I had imagined many things about the place where we were but my imagination was quite poor compare to what laid before me. Before us stood a huge and beautiful hotel, in the middle of a forest. 

"Welcome to Ubud." Jimin's grin got only wider at my bewilderment.

"We're in Bali?!" 

He laughed before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "We are. I thought we both needed some holidays and quality time together." 

"And out of all places you chose Bali and Jimin, this hotel, I know the prices." 

"And so?" 

Jimin looked absolutely unimpressed with my attempt to argue with him. And then, I realized that fighting a man who owned a damn jet, was a waste of time. I sighed in defeat but nudged him in the stomach nevertheless. 

"Lead the way, lover boy."

 

**** 

 

The room was too beautiful to be real.

Scratch that. The whole place was too beautiful to be real. Our room, without a doubt, was one of those luxury villas that screamed rich –and that I only saw on photos. The main room was bigger than my flat and the bathroom was actually the size of my flat which honestly was a tiny bit disturbing. Along with wooden room came a private swimming pool that offered the best view ever: on the forest and rice fields. I knew already what I would do tonight. 

I stood breathless at our private veranda, admiring the view and the particle of magic that flew around the place. I was eager to discover this place along with Jimin. 

Jimin sneaked behind me, his arms circled my body and instantly I leaned against his chest, sighing in delight. Everything felt just so amazing. The place, the hotel, Jimin’s body.

“You like it?” 

“Like it? I love it.” 

I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck, hands tugging lightly at his hair. “How can you be so perfect. It’s unfair.”

Jimin’s eyes shone so brightly at my words, his smile widening as he leaned closed and brushed his lips against mine. 

“Not nearly as perfect as you are.”

I melted.

 

 

****  

 

 

Before the sun could even start setting down, Jimin brought me to the restaurant in the hotel, going for the table in the garden. It was calm and nice, surrounded with all the forest. The floor was made of stones and the main alley had small candles showing the way. 

“It’s my second time in this place.” Jimin admitted as he looked at the rice fields ahead of us. “But today it feels different. I don’t know if it’s because of your presence or if it’s because of the bracelet. This place feels special.”

I hummed in agreement. “This place is magical, Jimin. I can feel magic coming out of every single tree of this forest. From every little being. I’ve never encountered something like that. Not even in Jin’s forest.”

“Do you think people in this place can feel it too?” 

“They’re probably too used to notice. Quite frankly, humans prefer not to see our world.”

“It’s sad. They don’t know what they’re missing out.”

I could not help but smile. Jimin had such a pure soul, loving this world for how it was and wanting to share it with everybody. It was probably hard for him to repress himself in times like this.

“They wouldn’t understand, so trust me, it’s for the best.”

Jimin nodded and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers. 

I had to say, I did not know right at that moment what took my breath away. Was it the magic? Was it the place? Or was the way the sun Jimin’s face? It seemed like not only magic loved Jimin but nature in general did too. It was terribly unfair bit I enjoyed it nevertheless. 

“You’re beautiful.” It escaped my mouth before I could stop it

Jimin chuckled at my confession, squeezing my hand gently. “You are.”

 

***** 

 

When I was younger and still lived among demons, one of my favorite moment of the day became wandering in the forest by myself, looking for new places that would make me dream and make me escape from my sad reality. Here in Ubud, from day one, I knew there would be so many beautiful and amazing places to discover. And it was exactly what we did. 

We woke up early the next morning, ray of sunshine coming through the windows -that we had left opened on purpose, caressing our faces. 

I let a groan escape my lips as I shifted only closer to Jimin, blocking the sun with his body. He chuckled at my reaction, nevertheless he wrapped eagerly his arm around my body and pressed me gently around him, placing a soft kiss on top of my head. 

"Morning." 

If from outside I managed to keep a straight face -or more like I was glad to hide it from him, inside I was squealing. I would just never get tired of waking up to his smiling face. 

He poked my side out of nowhere, making me squirm in his arms, desperately trying to escape from his sudden attack, but it was useless. The moment I thought I was finally free, he yanked my arm harder and made me fall straight on him. There was no avoiding his handsome face now.

"Hi." He exhaled and only then I realized just how close his face was.

"Hi." 

His smile widened, contagious I might add, his fingers found my face and my cheek with so much softness, I could melt into puddle right on the spot. Instead, I leaned closer to press my lips against his, wanting nothing more but feel his lips on mine. A simple press of lips was enough to warm my heart, to make me sigh in delight and relax on him.

"I can get used to it." I admitted, then I moved back on the mattress, crossing my arms against his chest, I rested my head on top of them while watching Jimin with a fond smile on my face. “Now that you have forcefully brought me to Bali.”

“Put like this, it sounds horrific.” He cut me in the middle

“Seduced me again. What’s on our agenda?”

He poked my arm playfully before giggling at our silliness.

“I hope you like hiking because there’s a lot to do here.”

 

***** 

 

“Let’s jump in.” Jimin asked as we halted by a waterfall

The sight was absolutely breath-taking. It was not a huge nor very deep waterfall but the fact that it was lost in the middle of the forest, surrounded by stones with water so clear you could see the bottom, had something magical to it.

“Are you serious?” I asked incredulous and then glanced at our clothes. “I didn’t plan to swim!”

“And so?”

“I’m not jumping in without a swimsuit!”

Maybe I should have tried to sound more convincing, maybe that would have avoided me a smug look from Jimin. 

“Who said we need a swimsuit to jump in?” 

Oh how I knew the look he gave me. I did not need to be a mind-reader to know exactly what had crossed his mind and I had to admit that I was not completely against the idea of just getting rid of my clothes and swim with him. It was definitely very tempting but then, what if somebody would find this place too? 

“Oh well. I’m definitely going in. It’s hot.” Jimin announced as he slowly started ing his shirt, his eyes glued to my face, he smirked seeing how my eyes followed his every moves. 

It was really hard not to stare. Not when I had such a nice man before me, stripping and looking terribly hot –and it was not due to the weather. He winked playfully at me before jumping in the water, his laugh echoing and slowly I felt my resolution crumble. Did I mention that nobody could resist Park Jimin? I certainly could not.

And just like that I stripped and jumped in the water. 

“See. It’s refreshing.” Jimin commented and swam closer to me

I had forgotten all about the beauty of this place, my eyes were only captivated by him, his wet hair, his smile; I couldn’t resist the urge to touch him. So I did. My fingers were first to reach his face, caressing his cheeks, before I moved closer and brushed my lips against his. It was a simple brush, just to feel him against me. I felt him smiling against my lips, he circled my waist with one arm and crushed my body against his chest, biting my lips, asking for more. And I gave in, parting my lips, deepening the kiss.

That moment at the waterfall, I realized that from the beginning I stood no chance against Park Jimin. All I could do was to fall for him all over again.

 

**** 

 

After three days in Ubud, I came to realization that this place was the closest to heaven I could probably ever get. Everything about this place was perfect, good and magic. Whenever it was during our walks through the forest or visiting the different temples, everything felt just so nice. Another place that would have made me uncomfortable in another country should have been the market. In reality? I enjoyed it too much. 

One afternoon, Jimin decided that we should go to the market, do some shopping and mingle with the locals. I had mixed feelings about his idea but the moment we reached the market I changed my mind. I had never seen a market so colorful and it had nothing to do with me seeing the other world. It didn't matter where I looked, people would be smiling, laughing, joking around, the atmosphere in general was light and warm and even a moody person would not be able to resist for long. 

I clearly could not.

They enjoyed the simplest and smallest thing in life, embracing it and I came to wish I could do that too.

I halted in my tracks, my eyes wandering all around the place with admiration. Jimin noticed my sudden halting, he turned around and peered at my face curiously before smiling at my shining eyes. As he got closer to me, he laced his fingers with mine and pulled me closer to him, forcing me to move.

“Let’s go.” 

We barely made past three merchants when one of them stopped us, handing me an apple that looked way too delicious to refuse. My eyes darted back and forth between the smiling man –just by the look in his eyes I could tell that he was absolutely genuine with his gesture and wanted me to have this apple, and the apple. I accepted it and took a bite. Juicy and delicious just like I thought. "Thank you.” The man only smiled in reply and bowed lightly before letting us go. Just like that.

“They are so friendly.” I commented

“They are. They always welcome you here with opened arms. It surprised me at first too. But now? I enjoy it so much.” 

I hummed in agreement. For someone who was not fond of interaction with humans, I had to admit that I enjoyed this place and those special humans. 

Because yes, they were special. No matter how hard I tried to find a logical explanation, I could not deny any longer that this whole island was affected by some kind of magic. Including citizens. It wasn’t some big and impressive amount of magic, but still there was a light trace of it running through their veins. 

“Look there!” Jimin suddenly let go of my hand and ran to another merchant who was selling different accessories including some hats. 

Jimin grabbed one straw hat and looked proudly of me. Did I need to say that I knew what he had on mind?

“No.”

“Oh come on! You’ll look cute!”

“I won’t. Just wear it yourself!”

“I will but first I want to see it on you.” He insisted, “Please, babe.” 

And then he did. The puppy eyes that I could not absolutely resist. 

 

***** 

 

Jimin was right to force me to take holidays. This trip was everything I needed –without actually realizing it. 

But then, one day everything changed.

I woke up that morning with a bad feeling, the kind of bad feeling that makes you sick to the stomach. I knew we should have stayed in our room and enjoy ourselves, but there was so much to do here, so we took the risk.

And I came to regret it.

That day, we decided to visit the oldest temple in Ubud. It was said to be particularly interesting and beautiful, of course we had to see it to ourself. It was one of the most touristic place, we expected it to be crowded.

It was not.

I should have taken it as a sign that maybe we were not welcomed here. I should have felt right away the shift in the atmosphere. I should have noticed how calm it was around the place; no birds, no wind, it was too calm, too dead, and then, the sky got darker with every passing minutes. But nothing really mattered to me, I was too absorbed with Jimin’s touch and his eagerness to show me everything. It was cute and contagious.

But then, it was too late.

At first, it was a light rumbling , I was not sure where it came from but it made me stop in my tracks. I looked behind us, almost expecting something to happen.

Nothing happened.

"What’s wrong?" Jimin asked, his eyes on me

"I'm not sure." There was definitely something odd about this place.

And then I felt it. Saw it.

A snake speeding our way, or more exactly it was aiming for Jimin. I would not have panicked as much if it was a regular snake. This one? It was a demon in disguise and it meant only trouble. I grabbed Jimin's hand tightly, shoving him behind me, shielding him with my body and my magic.

The snake halted just before us, hissing and looking at me, conveying his message on its own weird way.

"You can't save him."

I frowned at it, not understanding the meaning but it did not really matter since I had long decided that nothing and no-one could stop me from protecting this man.

"Leave." I ordered and at the same time my grip on Jimin's hand tightened. He looked worriedly at my hand before looking back at the snake.

"He's cursed. There's nothing you can do for him. Let him die."

"Shut up!" I almost yelled but my voice betrayed me and cracked under the fear.

"Eunji?"

Hearing his voice should have reassured me and helped me to regain composure. It didn't. Actually, I wanted him away from me so I could deal with the snake. 

I thought things could not get worse but it did.

A single black butterfly flew right under my nose, circling us both before landing on the snake.

"It's weird." Jimin commented

"You're so ungrateful. I'm being a good friend here, you know? This boy will die and you will only cry his death. Leave him while you can."

"I don't care? Leave us. I won't change my mind."

"What a shame."

I hated how they pretended to care when in fact it was just a stupid game to them. They enjoyed themselves with my distress and they were looking forward to feel, to taste my pain.

"Should we head back?" Jimin whispered and leaned closer, his warmth embracing all my senses.

"No need. I'm leaving."

Jimin gasped loudly, his eyes widening in shock. He had just heard the snake's voice.

"I'm looking forward to see you cry, Eunji."

And just like that he left, leaving me confused, scared and angry beyond mesures. Why were they back?

 

*****

 

After the misadventure at the temple, we decided that it was better to head back to the hotel and spend the rest of the day inside. Really clever choice, too bad the damage was already done. 

Through the whole trip back to the hotel, I could not talk, my mind was somewhere else, a dark place that I did not want to share with Jimin yet. But I realized too that it was now a question of time before Jimin have to learn about my past, about the demons  who shared my life. 

Jimin, like always, was patient with me. He could have asked for an explanation, it was obvious that I was too familiar with the demon, but he did not ask and was as patient as ever with me, waiting for me to come around. He knew I would. Eventually. 

By the time the sun started slowly fading, I decided to jump in our private swimming pool, enjoying the peaceful view. A gentle breeze my face as I rested, moving slowly in the water, almost relaxing. Just almost. The scene at the temple kept replaying in my head, over and over again. 

The soft tingles under my skin alerted me of Jimin's presence near by; I turned around to find him with a glass of red wine, looking lost in his thoughts and yet his eyes were on me. Maybe for once I knew what he was thinking about. But instead of speaking, my eyes darted back to the horizon, admiring the sunset and its pink shades. 

Jimin moved closer before finally sitting on the edge of the swimming pool, putting only his feet in the warm water and enjoyed the view. 

"I'm not dumb you know." He finally spoke, his voice calm and steady 

"I know." I replied without looking at him. I swam closer to the other edge of the pool and rested my arms on the edge. "There are just things I'm not fully ready to share with you. Yet."

"This snake. I heard him which makes me think that it wasn't a simple snake, was it?"

I sighed but turned around to face him. "He's a demon. He isn't very powerful but he's annoying." I almost wanted to added annoying like Taehyung but it would not be fair to Taehyung to compare someone as weak as this snake. 

"Then why did he upset you so much?"

"Because it's about you."

Now Jimin looked confused and concerned and it was completely understandable.

"He's not the first demon to tell me that you're going to die."

"Oh." 

Before I could even start explaining how bothered I really was, Jimin slid inside the pool, his wine long forgotten, he approached me and stopped when there was almost no space left between us. His arms circled around my body, rubbing my arms gently.

"I'm not going to leave, you know that." He spoke gently, his eyes soft and loving. "I know that life is unpredictable but as long as you're by my side, I believe nothing can happen to me."

"I'm not invincible, Jimin."

"I know. But you're hella stubborn. I wish good luck to the poor souls who would dare to go against you." His hand landed on my cheek and he gently with his thumb. "I'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Oh how much I wanted to believe his words. I almost did. But then, the last ray of sunshine hit his body and then, my whole world crumbled.

Jimin winced in pain and took a step back from me, his hand against his torso, he seemed to be in great pain. I was confused but it took me only a second to react and wrap my arm around his.

"Jimin?" 

But because of the pain he could not answer. But then, I got my answer. A mark appeared on Jimin's chest. A mark that was not supposed to be on him. A mark that I had never seen on him until tonight.

Belial's mark.

I could not help but take a step back and let go of Jimin's body. I wished so badly it was just a mistake but I had seen it so many times, I could not be wrong on this one.

Jimin, despite the pain, seemed to have noticed the change in my behavior, he looked my way and for a moment he forgot all about the pain and instead he worried for my pale face.

"What-"

"I'm so sorry, Jimin. , this. I can't believe it." I muttered and took another step back, making it impossible for Jimin to touch me. I could not let him touch me.  But I could not let him suffer too, I slapped myself mentally and spread my magic, reaching him, soothing him before finally his face relaxed.

"Thanks." But when he saw the mark on his chest he frowned. "It's back."

"Back?" I asked, surprised

"Yeah. I don't remember when it first appeared, but I remember it disappearing when I turned thirteen." His eyes darted back and forth between his mark and me. "Is it that bad?"

Of course he had noticed how distraught I was and he was ready to reach back for my hand but I did not let him. 

"Eunji. What are you doing?"

I wished I knew. Instead, I could only whisper a 'sorry' barely audible before vanishing into thin air.