Warning: it's a confusing chapter (but hey, it's an update yay~...no? okay)

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“That was an unusually persistent bunch, wasn’t it?” After about 10 minutes of chasing, Doojoon managed to lose them and they drove onto a highway.

“Okay okay, just try not to run anyone over!” Naeun nagged as she straightened herself out. Doojoon wasn’t particularly graceful in making turns, and since they had to make quite a few, both Myungsoo and Naeun kept getting tossed around in the back seat.

“I’ll try not to!” Doojoon laughed and hummed along to some song on the radio.

Someone cleared his throat and Naeun was suddenly reminded that they weren’t alone.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but can someone please tell me WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Myungsoo’s face was awfully pale as he pressed himself into the car’s door, away from Naeun. From the looks of it you’d think he was stuck in a car with a hungry tiger, not two strangers.

“Oh, don’t worry, those were just some losers trying to buy favors from the Fox, or maybe even the Siren! I don’t think they’re the Banshee’s men though, he’d be more careful…” Doojoon started ranting but then he noticed Naeun desperately making an X with her arms.

But Myungsoo’s face was already turning into a mixture of confusion and horror. “Fox? Siren?! Who are you people?!!”

Doojoon went quiet for a second and then raised an eyebrow at Naeun through his back mirror.

“I thought he was with you.”

Naeun avoided looking at her driver. She gave a reassuring (plastic) smile to Myungsoo and tried speaking as normally as she could.

“It’s nothing you have to worry about…You said you needed to stop by the repairs to pick up your bike, right? We’ll drop you off right now…”

“We can’t. You’re already half an hour late.” Doojoon said as he sternly looked the road. “I’ll drive him after I drop you off.”

Great. Naeun swallowed and looked at Myungsoo from the corner of her eye. His mouth was hanging open and his body was still glued to the car’s door, probably in case he needed to run away (on a highway - ha!)

Naeun mentally cursed herself. She wanted to avoid this but now she definitely owed him an explanation.

“To put it simply…” Naeun wavered, trying to find the right words. “Umm…I uh…um”

“She’s the sole heir of one of the richest and finest mafia bosses of Korea” Doojoon cheerfully filled in, “and also in all of Asia, if I may say so myself!”

Mafia. Somehow that seemed way too anticlimactic for Myungsoo. Seriously, just that? He thought it would be something worse. Myungsoo felt a little relaxed.

“YAH! Don’t in!” Naeun yelled, slapping Doojoon’s shoulder.

“Well I had to since you were tongue-tied! You can’t just date someone who has no clue who you are, right?”

Naeun’s eyes widened. She felt almost insulted by the thought itself, “Date? Wait a second, are you implying that–”

“Well he’s your boyfriend isn’t he?” Doojoon asked, confused.

“NO!” both Naeun and Myungsoo yelped at the same time. Startled, the two exchanged glances and then looked away immediately.

Myungsoo leaned in closer to Doojoon. He was beginning to calm down a bit, but he was still curious about something.

“Wait, so who were those people? And what does her being connected to some mafia have to do with ‘Witch Hunting’?”

“Literally everything!” Doojoon exclaimed. He seemed quite eager to rant to Myungsoo because for the first time he lowered the volume of his radio.

“Yah! Don’t tell him. Only half an hour earlier he nearly fainted just by looking at a gun.” Naeun said cynically.

Myungsoo turned to look at her.

“I wasn’t fainting, I was startled!” he justified himself.

“Oh yeah?” Naeun lunged herself forward in her seat, eyes burning with mockery.

Myungsoo did the same, and the two were only inches apart.

“Are you always like this, Son Naeun?”

“Yup, pretty much! Like when I first met her she–” Doojoon responded, laughing.

“Yah! Whose side are you on?” Naeun complained, making the driver laugh even harder.

“I’m all on the side of justice! Now get going, we’re here already.” Doojoon said as they pulled up to an enormous iron gate. It was masterfully crafted, with iron flowes and patterns all throughout. It did seem odd to Myungsoo that there weren’t any guards standing by, but he dismissed the thought. Though the trees and vines behind the gate blocked most of Myungsoo’s vision, he managed to catch a glimpse of some mansion hidden deep within.

Naeun climbed out of the car, slammed the door and stomped away.

“See you in school Naeun-chan~” Myungsoo waved, grinning.

“Shut up!” She yelled angrily and disappeared behind the gate. And to think that only less than an hour ago he was afraid of getting killed! How bipolar can you be?

“So what’s the address Mr. –” Doojoon waved his hand around encouraging Myungsoo say his name.

“Myungsoo. Kim Myungsoo.” He said without hesitation. For a driver working for the mafia, Doojoon was awfully friendly; Myungsoo didn’t feel the need to conceal his identity – the guy seemed straightforward and honest enough. Doojoon nodded as Myungsoo gave him the address and they drove off in silence.

After 10 minutes of beating around the bush, Myungsoo finally found the courage to speak up, “So…what’s the whole deal with all this ‘Witch Hunt’? Is it some festival rich people have out of boredom or something? ”

 “Haha, you could say that!” Doojoon chuckled, “Mr. Kim, how many movies about gangs have you watched?”

Myungsoo was startled at such a question, “Not many…They usually have all this weird drama and repetitive gang versus gang fights I don’t like. It’s stupid how many people die from mob fights.”

“Precisely – it’s stupid. And that’s why Korea’s top mafias created the Hunts.”

“Pardon?”

Doojoon restarted.

“Let me rephrase that: there are different ‘Hunts’, all depending on the family the contestant comes from. For example, if the Siren family was challenged, then we would call it the ‘Siren Hunt’. The Witch family has the Witch Hunt. Got it?” Doojoon talked so fast that Myungsoo didn’t particularly understand, but he nodded anyways.

As Doojoon waited to make a left turn onto a busy street, he continued “The Hunts were created to avoid pointless casualties in gang fights. Instead, they have only the heirs of the key families be challenged. That is not to say each and every heir is tried in a Hunt – a mafia boss can appoint a 5 year-old and get away with it for all we care! The Hunt specifically challenges the heir to the Leading family, to prove that that family can take on Leadership for another generation. If he or she fails or dies in the Hunt, then the family loses its leadership, and the Leadership will by default go to some other family. ”

“Leadership?” Myungsoo was still confused, but this whole complicated business intrigued him.

“By Leadership I mean having one family be allowed to dominate and have the upper hand over all other families for a generation or until the next heir loses the Hunt.” Doojoon clarified, “Leading families solve conflicts between mafias, send help to any requesting families, and so on...”

“Sounds like a handful to me…”

“It is, but in return all other families have to pay a ‘tax’ and obey the Leading family’s rule. So if you win the Hunt and become the head of the Leading family, you’re pretty much invincible in the underground world!”

“So if I got this right: the Hunt is when the heir is ‘challenged’ to prove that they are worthy enough to take on the ‘Leadership’ role when they inherit the family?”

Doojoon grinned “Yes.”

Myungsoo sighed.This whole deal was so foreign to him that it felt like he was reading a plot summary of an action book or something. But Doojoon said it such a casual way that it seemed like common sense.

Just what had Naeun got herself into?

Wait a second.

Naeun.

Son Naeun.

Myungsoo was suddenly struck with realization.

“Wait, is Naeun the one ‘challenged’ this time?”

Doojoon looked at Myungsoo with curiosity, and his eyes glimmering under his thick eyebrows “…Yes”

“You don’t mean she’s the daughter of that Son?”

“BAHAHA! You’re a quick one, aren’t you Mr. Kim?” Doojoon nearly died of laughter looking at Myungsoo’s expression.

“…So he is the head of the leading family right now?!!”

“Yup, the leader of the almighty Witch family! Nice guy actually, though you can tell he’s Naeun father – it’s the similar I-shall-judge-you-hard attitude! I guess you’ve heard of him?”

Myungsoo felt his limbs go cold all of a sudden. Son. That Son.

"More like who didn’t hear of him!"

Myungsoo tried recollecting himself, but reality was hitting him hard.

He wasn’t sitting in the back of the car of some happy-go-lucky driver who told fun stories about some mafia business Myungsoo didn’t know or care about.

He was sitting in the back of the car of a driver who worked for Korea’s - no, Asia’s - most powerful man alive!

Myungsoo was flooded with thoughts “…you said that there were the ‘key’ families? And the way the Hunt is titled depends on the contestant?”

Doojoon nodded as he pulled up in front of Myungsoo’s repairs shop.

“Yes. Mr. Son’s family is the Witch family. Besides the Witch there is the Siren, the Banshee, the Nine-Tailed Fox and the Chimera. Currently only the Witch’s and the Fox’s heirs are in Korea, while the rest are spread out doing god knows what. They’ll come back in a month for the Witch Hunt.”

“In a month? Why a month?”

“Because Miss Son turns 20 then, and will finally be illegible to do the Hunt.” Doojoon got out and opened the door for Myungsoo, “You didn’t really think an underage girl could compete, did you?”

Makes sense.

“But why do the rest of the family heirs have to come? Just to watch?”

“The Witch Hunt will consist of the Witch taking on the heirs of the other families – that’s the challenge. It’s made that way because while the main contestant will be the one mostly under fire, the other heirs will also be tested for their endurance. So in the end it’s ‘the Witch heir versus the Fox’s, Siren’s, Banshee’s and Chimera’s heirs’”

Although the whole thing sounded absolutely insane and resembled an overdone prank, Myungsoo believed what he was told without second guessing anything.

Myungsoo was about to get out of the car, but then he thought of something.

“Can I ask one last question?” he hesitated, perplexedly looking at Doojoon’s friendly expression.

“Sure thing!”

“…Why are you telling me all of this?”

Doojoon’s smile remained, but something dark appeared in his eyes. He closely studied Myungsoo’s features.

He didn’t look friendly at all now.

Finally, Doojoon spoke, half-whispering in a very deep voice, his tone remaining just as casual as before.

“Why? Why indeed…Soon Miss Son will have enough problems taking care of herself. She doesn’t need distractions. I don’t know much about you, but I know two things: one, you’re bugging the Miss. Two, I need to get rid of you. Theoretically speaking, I could shoot you and throw you into a river, or bury you alive, or lock you up in a furnace and burn you, but I don’t feel like getting my hands dirty.” Doojoon leaned in and Myungsoo felt himself shrink in size.

After a long pause, Doojoon burst into laughter.

“Why he asked!” He looked around as if he was referring to an invisible audience, “HA! You’re already trembling just by me threatening you! And yet you’re hitting on the next great Witch of the family! This is hilarious…But since you seem to be quite smart I’ll tell you ‘why’ I told you. Fear is the ultimate weapon, and you, my friend, – you’re so terrified after I told you about the Miss’s mafia involvement that you don’t even realize how terrified you are!”

Still laughing, Doojoon politely gestured Myungsoo to get out of the car. He did, feeling like someone was moving his legs for him.

As Doojoon got back in and rolled down his window, he added “I understand that at your age chasing a pretty girl is fun. And I want the very best for my Miss. But you’re a coward – so just stay away from her, would you? Chao~”

Myungsoo blankly watched the car drive away till it was no longer in sight. He remained standing there for some time till his knees finally gave in and he leaned on the nearest wall.

I definitely hate Mondays.

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Author's Notes: I kinda...dislike this chapter? I don't know, I just have a bitter taste just writing it, much less reading it over...Maybe it's becuase it's less about the characters and more about the whole system? I dunno. I don't like it, and I'm writing the next one on a lighter tone...

If you're still confused, think of the Witch Hunt as "if a King had an eldest son, the prince would have to prove himself worthy to inherit the throne by battling the princes. If that prince won and became King, then his heir would have to battle his cousins/other contestants. If he doesn't win or dies, he loses his family loses the crown"

AAAUGGH!!!! This made so much more sense in my head!!! ASDFGHJKLEWRTYU THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING I HATE IT. go ahead and unsubscribe because I'd definitely unsubscribe myself if I could DSDGFHJKL Myabe I revealed too much noooo, but then again you guys don't know how the competition looks like so that's okay but ashdgjhk

HAPPY NEW YEAR btw. Let's hope it's going to be better than the next one...And I promise the next chapter will be better than this one oh lord it burns my eyes kill it but I don't know how to rewrite it fuuuuuuuuuuu