▬ Chapter 9: A Genie's Enemy ▬

“What do I do?” Minji thought in the middle of her teacher’s lecture. “It would be awkward if I bump into him now.”

Minji has been debating about what she should do once she sees Dongwoo again after what Woohyun told her last night. Woohyun disclosed that Dongwoo was indeed one of the genies’ clients. In that case, he’s in the same position as Minji. Both of them had dilemmas of their own.

“Nam Minji?” Mr. Kim called.

Minji got startled and stood up. “Y-Yes?” She heard the class snicker.

“What’s the answer?” He asked as he tapped a ruler on the board with some English words written above it.

“Come back again,” someone whispered.

“Come back again?” She repeated.

Mr. Kim looked at her with suspicion but just acknowledged her answer with a slight nod. “That’s right. Now, you have to pay attention, okay?”

“Yes!” Minji sat back down and looked around to see who gave her the answer. Then she noticed someone sitting beside her, waving with a smile. “Woohyun?!”

“Hey~” Woohyun replied with a flirtatious voice and a grin.

“Is something wrong, Minji?” Mr. Kim and the whole class stared at her.

“N-nothing.” She awkwardly sat back down while Woohyun was laughing beside her. “Now look what you did,” she whispered.

“I didn’t do anything!” Woohyun clasped his stomach. “You were the one who screamed my name.”

“How did you know the answer anyway? Are you good at English too?”

“Not at all,” Woohyun pointed out. “For us genies, whenever we encounter a language that is not familiar, there are subtitles for us below. Just like watching a foreign drama.”

“Really?! Awesome.”

“Yup! That’s how genies communicate with their masters if they’re of a different ethnicity.”

“Talk about being global.” Minji suddenly had an idea pop in her head and with a smirk, she whispered, “Hey. Can you help me with my English midterms then?”

Woohyun held up his index finger and swished it side to side. He also shook his head. “That would be cheating, my dear.”

“Fine, then I’ll make a wish.”

“Really? Now?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?”

“Didn’t your teacher just tell you to listen? See?” Woohyun pointed to the front and Minji followed where his finger led. Then she saw Mr. Kim looking intently at her as if she was crazy.

“Minji, are you sick?” Mr. Kim inquired.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been talking to yourself for quite a while now.”

Snap. I forgot they can’t see Woohyun at all.

“Do you want to head home for today?”

“Um,” Minji thought for a moment then she remembered that she didn’t want to see Dongwoo for the day. Not to mention, make her other wish. “Yes, please.”

Mr. Kim went to his desk, took out a piece of paper, and scribbled something down. Minji gathered al