→ Chapter 014

Chanyeol pressed his plump lips into a thin line, causing Mina to sigh even more, “You should’ve told me about this before I sent the papers to the principal. There’s nothing I can do about it now.”

Mina wanted to stomp her feet on the ground and throw a tantrum as every child does, but she couldn’t. What was a weak attempt from Baekhyun to cover up their carelessness transformed into one of her biggest fears, and she had to stop herself from going over to the said boy and yell at him for choosing that damned subject. Rebellion (Mina thought it was merely some code for breaking the law) meant she had to at least do something illegal, or watch Baekhyun do it without speaking about it, and those were the things Mina despised the most, in order. She shuddered at the thought of letting Baekhyun get away with one of his devilish plans. ‘Devil’: that was Baekhyun’s new nickname Mina had given him and it suited him perfectly; His eyes glinted with mischief while everything else about him screamed innocence and purity. He is capable of deceiving and manipulating just like the devil.

“Yeol,” Mina whined, “I can’t go and break the rules with Byun Baekhyun himself! You know how I can’t stand his ways, but following him without saying anything about it? That’s impossible!” She crossed her arms, standing perfectly still in the vast photography meeting room. Chanyeol sat behind his wooden desk, his legs crossed in an elegant manner and almost arrogantly since he stole Min Yoongi’s spot. Mina didn’t know the boy personally, but they said he reacted pretty badly to it.

“Mina,” Chanyeol pursed his lip, not meeting her eye, “When life gives you lemonade, make lemons.” He then moved on to his laptop, not realizing he got the quote wrong. In contrary, Mina did and found it ironic because Baekhyun was no lemonade; he made her life sour and out its sweetness. It was only then that she realized how right Baekhyun was yesterday in the hallway: if they fought any longer, life will become so sour that any trace of sugar would’ve disappeared. Before Mina could turn away and leave, Chanyeol called her name and said, “Baekhyun told you to meet him at the building tomorrow after you leave school. He didn’t precise which one, though. You can ask him later.”

Mina bit her lip and groaned; it was obvious what Baekhyun wanted. For her, the most rebellious act a teenager had done that she had witnessed is street art, Baekhyun’s street art. No wonder it was the first thing he thought of: it’s his comfort zone and most likely his favorite pastime.

“That devil…” She hissed, throwing her head back in devastation, but Chanyeol still heard it.

“What did I tell you about calling Byun Baekhyun a devil?” He inquired strictly, yet his tone sounded amused. Mina turned around to face him, a smug scowl painted on her lips.

“That it’s offending to the devil?” Mina tilted her head to the side, walking away after she heard the exasperated sigh that belonged to none other than her best friend.

The cold damp air outside hit Mina’s face, making the little hairs on her arms stand. It was the evening, and the sun sank lower in the sky until the neighboring buildings’ shadows melted away into the rouge darkness that was about to come. Mina’s braid fled away from the inside of her pocket once the wind hit her again, and she begun to think about cutting it. The only reason she kept it this long was her mother; she loved her hair long and Mina didn’t want to break the woman’s heart. But even if the cool air blew right through her ears, she picked up the sound of careful footsteps behind her.

They were too casual, and Mina stopped dead in her tracks. Several weeks ago, those same footsteps with the same precise jump have been following her. She twirled around, but this time she spotted a silhouette hopping to the right unnaturally fast before disappearing into a dark corner. Mina’s heartbeats drummed against her ribcage as she trailed behind, inching closer and closer to the obscure alley.

It smelt awful, and Mina hurried to clasp a finger over her nose. It wasn’t dark, not too dark for Mina to spot a person crouching behind a huge trash bin, their shoelaces sprawling on the ground and giving them off. Mina clutched her skirt, gulping, before moving closer to the bin in the right corner of the alley. She didn’t know why she was acting so recklessly; somebody dangerous could be hiding there. But if they were really dangerous, why would they hide from me? Mina thought as she took the last step to figure out her mysterious stalker.

Kang Seulgi looked up at her through her mascara-coated lashes, her expression showing nothing but fear and shock. Her Kyungbock uniform could be seen through the gap down the jet black coat she was wearing. Soon, her lips twisted into a nervous smile as she uttered, “I can explain.”

Minutes later, Mina found herself sitting in front of a nervous Kang Seulgi in Starry Café, all the shock and anger dissipating completely and getting replaced by curiosity. Mina didn’t know if she could trust Seulgi. After all, she had only met the girl yesterday and knew absolutely nothing about her. But something about her smile –Mina couldn’t pinpoint what it was– pulled her in that same instant, and maybe also the snowing zero above her head.

“Do you believe in witchcraft?” Seulgi leaned in closely, startling Mina with both the action and the question, “Not like, the kind that you see in Disney movies but like, actual witchcraft.”

Mina blinked at the girl before her. She wanted to say no but her spirit of inquiry took over. Seulgi was still all over her face when she nodded slowly, staring right back at her.

“I’m a witch,” Seulgi whispered, and Mina froze. “Just to emphasize, we don’t practice magic –I mean, we wish we could– but what we’re doing is pretty close.” Mina was even more terrified Seulgi used the word ‘we’ because that meant there were more of them, “Now, before you imagine me standing in a coven practicing a dark spell that will make the world perish, hear me out.”

A shiver ran down Mina’s spine; she only read about witches in fantasy books and watched them in horror movies, and what she learned is that they’re deceiving and evil, that they dressed in black only and that they stole babies away from Queens. However, Seulgi didn’t look like she’d do any of that. And that brought her to her next point: Realistic witchcraft. It has been years since Mina had done that one particular research paper about real witches, but she still remembered. Real witches, or members of the Pagan community, dress in utterly innocuous ways and they don’t always worship the Devil. They gather in a circle to perform rituals under the moon, they use wands and they chant. What Mina liked about them was that they follow a strict moral code just like her and that they believe in Karma. Little Mina was so surprised that there were real witches, but she was more than accepting of them. She remembered how her father helped her through her work, telling her stories about brave lawful witches he had met throughout his life. Mina grew comfortable hearing about them, treating them like merely people from another religion. But this was the first time she had met an actual member from the Pagan community, and she was fascinated. Nodding at Seulgi, Mina gave her the permission to keep talking, now interested in what she had to say.

“I didn’t want to stalk you,” She said, shaking her head. “Witches often know people more than they know themselves. For my case, it was you. I’ve never felt somebody’s aura before. Mother always told me it was pointless to try, that it came naturally when the time is right. I guess it happened the week after the second semester began, when I felt something intense about you. I decided to follow you, and I managed to get a strand of your hair –I’m sorry for that by the way–. I’m not going to go in detail, but after some procedures, my mother and I found out you were cursed.”

“Cursed?” Mina echoed, a gasp leaving her lips.

“No, no, don’t worry. A curse doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad.” Seulgi shook her head frantically, “It might be a blessing from above.” Mina visibly relaxed at her words, sinking back into her chair again. “I had to get another strand of your hair –again, I’m sorry– and I found out your curse is Iustitian.”

Mina furrowed her brows, her toothpick digging deep into her skin from how hard she clutched it, “Iustitian? What does that mean?”

Seulgi bit the inside of , “It’s hard to explain, actually. Mother said it was a special kind of curse that the gods give to one being each century, and its sole purpose is to do the greater good.”

“What?” Mina squinted at the red-haired girl in front of her. Do the greater good? That was too vague, too ominous for her to understand.

Seulgi sighed, “Honestly, I don’t know either. That is why I was following you for the third strand of hair.” She smiled sheepishly, looking everywhere but Mina’s direction. When she looked up, she fell face to face with Mina handing her a long strand of hair, and she took it.

Mina pressed her lips into a thin line, "So you were the one following me that one day at the intersection?"

Seulgi nodded, keeping her head down, "Yes, and once when you were speaking with Miss Nam. And another time when you were talking with Park Chanyeol." She groaned, hiding her face with her hands, "I sound so creepy, but I promise I wasn't going to harm you or anything. I was afraid of you, actually."

Mina laughed, "It's okay, and I don't bite. I can't believe I look that unapproachable."

Seulgi finally gazed up with an interested look on her face, "How are you so chill with this? I thought you were going to report me or something. Yet here you are... not freaking out."

Mina laughed even harder, "Dad always told me about the Pagans. He knew some of you."

Mina liked it that Seulgi didn't press the matter any further and respected her. Instead, she chortled, “How did you trust me so easily? I mean, I wouldn’t have talked to you about this if you didn’t catch me red-handed. I was afraid you’d tell Park Chanyeol and he’ll spread the word about me being an evil witch.”

Mina shrugged; she couldn’t give her the real answer because she didn’t trust her fully yet. She was stricken with the words that came out of Seulgi’s mouth. So the sixth sense, which appeared right after her father died, is a curse from the gods? That was if Seulgi was correct. What greater good can she do with such ability? Maybe help catch criminals? Or maybe help select the next president of South Korea? Mina’s head flooded with endless possibilities, but Seulgi’s next sentence snapped her out of it.

“There’s one problem, though.” Seulgi narrowed her eyes, “Mother told me the gods choose one being in a century, but I felt the exact same intense aura coming from another person.”

Mina raised an eyebrow, fire emitting from deep within her, “Who is it?”

Seulgi whipped her head to the right as the door flung open, “Him.”

Mina followed her line of vision and her eyes landed on none other than Byun Baekhyun as he strolled in, alone. Mina’s breath hitched and she tore her gaze away from him –it was unbelievably hard to do so– to stare incredulously at Seulgi, “Are you serious?” to which the young girl nodded, “And what does that mean?” Mina found herself asking for the third time that day; it was too confusing, too confusing for her to compute what she heard…Cursed, greater good, and now Baekhyun?

Seulgi pressed her lips into a thin line, “I don’t really know.”

“Do you need a strand from his hair too? I can help.” Mina had a determined look on her face, which made Seulgi erupt in laughter.

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that.” She finally said, “Finding connections between people is pretty much non-existent in our community. We can sense them, but we cannot decipher them.”

“Oh, then I’m very disappointed. I was actually hoping you'd say yes so I can pull his hair.” Mina retorted as they both snorted at her overly serious tone. It was soon interrupted when Oh Sehun walked to their table, a notepad in his hand. Mina stared at him, trying to hide her surprise: his white zero climbed up to a green two. Suddenly, the smirk under his nose seemed much more threatening than the scowl he had been wearing that day.

“Would you like to order anything?” He spoke, voice much polite than the expression on his face. He didn’t give her any attention this time when Seulgi answered with an apologetic smile. Mina watched and watched as he ent