The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Ye Jin exhaled, relieved for the chance to rid herself of the new uniform. She gathered her books and collected her bag from the locker, all the while avoiding Suga's stares.  

Jung Kook joined her in leaving the classroom and by the time they were leaving the compound, Jung Kook's friends had caught up.  

"PC room, here we come!" Tae Hyung exclaimed as he led the group of boys in the opposite direction of Ye Jin.  

Jung Kook quickly said his goodbyes and Ye Jin watched them walk away, glad that she had met such positive people on her first day. As she turned to make her way home, she was met with the chest of Suga. She looked up at him, letting her frustration make itself known.  

She brushed past him and began her stroll home. After a block, the streets cleared out, allowing him to walk next to her. 

"Just tell me where you got it, and I'll leave you alone," he insisted. 

Suddenly, Ye Jin came to a stop. She glared at the boy and decided that it was safest to lie. "I got it in a Street Fair." 

Clearly, this wasn’t the answer he was looking for. He looked towards the ground, looking more confused than before. Ye Jin continued her walk, glad that he wouldn’t bother her anymore. 

"Wait!" He yelled after her. 

Besides her better judgment, she followed as instructed. 

"Who are your parents?" 

She scoffed, wondering why he needed to know. "I don’t know; they died when I was young." Another lie.  

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled. 

Turning away, Ye Jin hurried away from him. 

--- 

Once she entered the apartment, she felt like she could breathe again. The emptiness echoed around her with every movement. It finally dawned on her that she was alone. There were no scents dispersing from the kitchen, making her eager for dinner; no signs of video games from her brother; nothing. Now that she lived alone, things were always silent.  

Ye Jin was forced to live alone after her father exiled her from their home. When she was curious about magic, as she often was, she was unpredictable. On one fateful night, she experimented with a light spell that her Grandmother taught her. Her parents were out, leaving her and her brother home alone. She closed her bedroom door and focused on creating a flame for a candle on her dresser. The incantation was simple and short. The flame appeared but only just. She put more force into it, picturing the flames of a chimney. When the flame died away again, she gave up. Her brother was knocking on her door, eager to get his dinner. However, she was too involved with her magic to consider food. As his calls became whines and the whining turned into empty threats, anger boiled under the surface. As she rushed to open the door to scold her brother, the flame exploded behind her, eating up her window curtains behind.  

Soon enough, the house was aflame and her and her brother were safe outside. However, when her parents returned to the scene, they placed full blame on her and once they found somewhere else to live, they exiled her. They no longer wanted her danger around them. Her brother was afraid of her now and her parents sent her away with an envelope full of money. 

Ye Jin was thrown to the streets. However, before she could cause trouble, her Grandmother summoned her in private and gave her the necklace. Although she could have moved in with her Grandmother, the old woman was much too ill to entertain her.  

With her magic, Ye Jin found a place to live quickly, while tricking the owner into letting her stay there for much less than the asking price. As her finances were low, she often utilized her ability of creating the illusion that she was paying for items.  

So far, she lived comfortably. There were moments when the silence and loneliness smothered her, to the point where she would return to her parents' home and watch them from afar, fighting the urge to contact them or knock on the door. 

Currently, her apartment was located in a middle-class area. It was a one-bedroom apartment and she made sure her fridge was always equipped with food items. The other ladies in the complex often brought over some side dishes, out of pity for the abandoned girl. Whenever anyone asked about why she lived alone, she told them the same lie she told Suga: that her parents passed away and she had no choice but to provide for herself.  

Now, as she changed into a comfortable shirt and track pants, she flicked her hand and the television came on. She needed some kind of noise to make the silence more bearable. She made her way over to the sofa and lay down, taking a book of spells off of the coffee table. She didn’t need to hide her belongings as she had placed a protection spell around her apartment.  

The book of spells was given to her by one of her Aunts and she cherished it, as it was her companion through many of her rough times through high school.