For the next couple of days, the letter from the clan leaders haunted Ye Jin's mind. She had no idea why they needed to see her and the pressure and anxiety kept her distracted from her studies and, more importantly, spending time with Jung Kook. 

As he was staying with them until further notice, the cousins and Jung Kook spent almost every waking moment together. They ate together, shopped together and Jung Kook even dropped her off at her classes and picked her back up once they were finished. It felt like she had her own personal chauffeur and her friends from College would give her sideways glances and make romantic comments about Jung Kook's actions. She didn’t mind them; she enjoyed seeing Jung Kook's smiling face whenever she finished with a dreaded class.  

On Friday, Ye Jin was set to meet with the clan leaders, so she had to take the bus into the South. Much to her disagreement, Jung Kook tagged along. On one hand, she was glad to have a distraction for the long journey. On the other, she didn’t want to hint to Jung Kook that she was doing anything supernatural. She told him that she was visiting her brother, and he blindly believed her. Nam Joon saw them off at the station and then they were off. The bus wasn’t as packed as she anticipated, but Jung Kook still stuck to her side, not giving her any space to stretch.  

After about 15 minutes of silence, Jung Kook decided to approach a topic of conversation. 

"Ye Jin-ah, what time are you heading back home?" 

"I'm not sure yet. I might end up spending the night, if anything." 

"If you want, can I take you and your brother out for dinner tonight?"  

Ye Jin winced internally. Not only did she not want to be in the area that late, but she also didn’t have her brother to accompany her. 

"Ah, maybe we can do it another time? I haven't seen him in a while so I want to spend as much time with him as I  can," she lied. 

Jung Kook nodded and stared forward, wondering what else to say.  

After a while, he fell asleep and Ye Jin chuckled as his head bobbled now and then with the movements of the bus. She especially liked watching the synchronized bouncing of his hair. It took all her self-control to not touch it and feel how soft she imagined it being.  

When the bus arrived at the Busan bus terminal, Ye Jin hugged Jung Kook goodbye and made her way over to the meeting immediately. She had an hour to spear but didn’t want to test her time with walking around the all-too-familiar area.  

--- 

The meeting was to be held in the Park clan's head witch's lodging. It was the same place where all the Park meetings were previously held. Now, walking in, it felt like a new place. The environment sure as hell looked the same but it felt like a stranger. When she made her way into the main room, she understood why.  

The Min leaders were there, all looking exhausted from their respective daily lives. She had ten minutes before the meeting was supposed to commence. She made her way over to her seat, which was in the middle of the open room, in front of the tall row of the leaders. The head Park witch came over and greeted her, giving her a reassuring smile. Ye Jin did her best to return the favor but she couldn’t prove that she was excited, because, as it was abundantly evident, she was going to be judged by the all the major leaders of the Supernatural witches.  

Five minutes later, the leaders were seated and the tension in the room grew rapidly, threatening to swallow her up whole. 

Two minutes passed and not  a word was spoken. 

One more minute. The leaders were glancing at the entrance repeatedly.  

Another minute passed and there was murmuring outside of the main room. Ye Jin inclined her head to see the visitor and when he passed through the main doors, her heart stopped.  

"Sorry for being late," Yoon Gi whispered at the leaders.  

Ye Jin couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She couldn’t believe that he was also called to the meeting. Worse yet, she was outraged that he hadn't even so much as glanced at her when he entered. Now, he sat next to her and he averted his eyes as much as possible.  

"Alright, it is time for the meeting," the Park leader, Suga's father, announced.  

The elders made an effort to look serious and tense. Ye Jin also straightened in her seat, anxious about learning the purpose for such a uncomfortable meeting.