I am sitting in third period when I get a text from Jin.

Lunch?

Sure, I text back.

“That was a weird morning, huh,” he says as he sits down in the courtyard.

Taehyung's face flashes in my mind. The gentle way he cupped my cheek, the feel of his lips on mine...

My face flushes. 

“Yeah.... a weird morning," I say dazedly.

“I still can’t get over the fact that you created magical objects.” Jin shakes his head. “That’s completely unheard of. I actually looked it up- there are weapons manufacturers, but I don’t think any of them make things like you do.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not that hard. I can show you how I make them, actually.”

“This is some crazy alchemy .”

“Dude. If you read theory of magic books, it’s not that hard.”

Jin gives me a wry smile. “Well, we didn’t really focus on studying the theory. Our focus was on the use of magic.”

“Hmm. Why are you guys at Windsong, anyway? Shouldn’t you be at some kind of magic school? Like Hogwarts?”

“Ugh. Don’t even mention Harry Potter. If he didn’t have his wand, he would be crushed like a fly. No physical strength or knowledge on channeling magic without a tool.”

My eyebrows shoot up- I am about to point out that he did defeat Voldemort, and he is, of course, a fictional character- but Jin continues speaking.

“No, we’re not trying to become full-time sorcerers. People did that maybe a hundred years ago, until someone realized that if they used their magic to advance in the human world, they’d get a lot more money, fame, and prestige. Plus, it’s much easier.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Yeah. We go to Windsong because the administration is full of sorcerers and magic-friendly. It’s also a feeder to the Ivies, and after the Ivies we’ll inherit our parents companies or become high-profile politicians or wealthy lawyers and continue the cycle of wealth, because what else could you ever want other than success? Who cares if you have to tear down innocent people to get what you want? You have a Bentley! You go to fancy dinner parties at the governor’s mansion! And you’re powerful as hell and you can do whatever you want!”

Jin’s voice has turned bitter, angry. He glares into the distance, his chest heaving and his fists clenched by his side. I watch him with uneasy eyes.

“You really liked her, didn’t you,” I say.

He turns to me, a wry smile on his face. “That obvious, huh.”

I prop my head on my palm. “Tell me about her.”

The fury abates from his eyes. He takes a deep breath, exhales.

“You know those people who’re just good at everything?” he says. “They’re smart, they’re nice, they’re hilarious, they’re beautiful? That was Meena. Even before I’d entered high school, I’d heard about her. See, sorcerers view humans as a lesser species, but scholarship students have been deemed accomplished enough to be of use to them.”

My eyes widen. “Lucy, Dev, and Tom told me about this seminar scholarship students had to go to. They’d have to do crazy hard assignments and stuff every day.”

Jin nods. “Yup. All the assignments they did were being used to help sorcerers’ companies, or were just practice to advance their mental abilities.”

“Holy ,” I whisper. There is a sickening feeling creeping up on my skin. So I was just brought here to be used by magical creatures? I recall how kind Mrs. Kim was when I arrived at Windsong. Did she really just bring me here to be used?

“Meena was different,” Jin says. “She wasn’t a scholarship student, but she was just as smart as one. She was the administration’s poster child: a prime example of a wealthy, high-achieving human that might even be as intelligent as a sorcerer.”

“Damn...,” I shake my head. “It makes sense how she found out about magic. If she was really that smart, it must’ve only been a matter of time. How did you meet her?”

He cracks a small smile. “She was assigned to be my bio tutor. I was a problem child back then- I know it’s weird to imagine, but I got in trouble on a daily basis.”

“No way. You? You’re the most mellow guy I know!”

“Yup, I was a pretty hyperactive little 15 year old,” Jin laughs. “I had no control over my magic- I’d use it whenever, wherever, and for the craziest reasons. I such a . The first time Meena and I met, I was so rude to her. But every time I’d try and give her , she’d reply with an even better comeback. It got to the point where I actually started to respect her because she was so damn funny.”

I grin. “This is so weird for me to hear. I can’t imagine you being sassy to anyone.”

“Ah, I was a crazy kid.” He sighs, his smile disappearing. “We became really great friends, even though both of us had our own friend groups. I felt like I could talk to her about anything, anytime, whether I was stressed or happy or sad or annoyed.”

“I felt too ing guilty to go to her funeral. She died because of magic- something that had been a part of me for so long. I started to see magic for what it was: a tool for destruction and evil. What was worse was when Taehyung and Namjoon and Hoseok and Jimin- all of them, my best ing friends, blamed her for dying. They said that she never should’ve publicly posted about magic. , and Taehyung...,” Fury smolders in Jin’s eyes. “He of all people said she was asking for it.”

“That’s disgusting,” I growl.

“Yeah. I... if I could, I would never speak to them again.” Jin swallows. “But it’s not that easy. We all train together, see each other every day, and our families are close, and we’re all stuck in this god awful town together. I hate it. But I can’t help it.”

He leans back on the bench, looks up at the sky with awfully sad eyes.

“The most I can do now is protect you five,” he says. “I wish you weren’t in Windsong in the first place, but it might be hard for you to leave- especially after this semester.”

“Yeah, my mom really wants me to stay-,”

“No, not because of that. Again, you’ve been deemed a potentially valuable human. The administration will want to keep you here, no matter what.”

I look at him in alarm, chills running up and down my spine.

“Are you serious?” I whisper.

Jin nods, a grave expression on his face.

“Actually, it’s not too late for you, since you’ve only been here a semester. You could always just say that you miss home, or Windsong wasn’t a good fit- something like that. I don’t know. But Tom, for example? There’s no way they’ll let him go back. And if Dev and Lucy try to move, I guarantee the administration will try and pull so that they’ll have to stay here.”

My hands are trembling. I stare at Jin in growing horror.

“So we’re basically trapped,” I say.

He closes his eyes and nods.

I slump back down on the bench in disbelief.

“I can’t- I can’t leave,” I say quietly. “I want to, but I can’t just abandon Lucy, Tom, and Dev. I’m the only one who knows how to create magical objects.”

“I can protect them. I’ve been doing it for two years-,”

“Which is awesome, but what if something like the goblin attack or even the selkie incident happens again? If we hadn’t had amulets and knives, we would’ve been dead by the time you came. The most they have are healing solutions. We can’t just stay unarmed.”

“Joo. Listen to me. If you leave, they’re not going to blame you-,”

“How am I supposed to go back to Kansas knowing what I do? I just can’t do that. I’m staying here, and we’re going to protect ourselves until we graduate and get the hell out of this place.”

Jin wrings his hands in frustration. “They’re going to catch you-,”

“I don’t want to be a sitting duck!” I exclaim. “We just can’t do that! Jin, it’ll be fine. We have a year and a half left. It’ll be okay.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything. I can tell Jin is exasperated with me. But I just can’t abandon my friends like this- especially against such a powerful, terrible foe. I sigh, picking at my lunch.

And then something hits me.

“Wait, Jin. You said the most you can do is protect the five of us. Me, Tom, Lucy, and Dev make four. Who’s the other person?”

For a second, Jin’s eyes widen in alarm; he chokes on the piece of broccoli he was chewing and starts coughing violently. I stare at him in concern as he doubles over, pounding at his chest as he tries to clear up his throat.

“I- I meant four,” he says in a raspy voice. “Four of you. Slip of the tongue. Sorry.”

I blink.

“You know, if you can’t tell me who the other person is, that’s fine,” I say.

He swallows, his eyes watering. “No, I meant four. Don’t worry about it. Just eat your lunch.”

“O-kay.”

The next day, Jin comes to school with a small bag of bright blue stones. Lucy, Tom, Dev, and I lay them out on the lab table in awe.

“They’re beautiful,” Lucy breathes, holding one up to the light.

“This is fortified aquamarine, right?” I ask Jin.

His eyebrows shoot up. “How did you know that?”

“It’s pretty obvious, genius,” Dev points out, causing Jin to make a face at him.

I nod. “Good. This is awesome. I love igneous gemstones.”

“Why?” Jin questions curiously.

“The earth’s magma contains a higher percentage of magical particles, and when igneous rocks solidify, the particles are trapped in. Sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks have magical particles, too, but not as high of a percentage as igneous rocks. And you said these are fortified, too, so overall, these should make some damn good amulets.”

Jin looks at me for a long moment, blinks hard.

“All I know,” he finally says, “is that I grabbed these from my garage. I also am starting to realize that the idea of you making magical objects is somehow fathomable.”

I smirk. “The theory’s the easy stuff. Making the objects can ing . Amulets, though, are a piece of cake at this point. We’ll start working after school today.”

“Damn. I wanted to see how you make magical objects.” Jin says.

“You can still come.”

“I have lacrosse practice.”

“Oh. .”

“Actually, I won’t be able to make it, either,” Lucy says. “Student council stuff.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re on StuCo with Jimin, right?” Jin says.

“Mhm.”

“I see.” Jin furrows his eyebrows. “You should... stay away from him.”

“That’s what I told her,” Dev says as Lucy frowns at both of them.

“I don’t have a choice. We’re literally President and Vice President. Besides, he’s not that bad... right?”

Jin warily looks at her. “Well. He is a sorceror. And I don’t trust him.”

Dev swings his arm around Jin’s shoulders and says, “I can’t believe I used to hate you,” as Lucy yells, “You’re a sorcerer!”

I watch them, slowly shaking my head. This scene is almost unbelievable. Things are just getting weirder and weirder. By the look on Tom’s face, I can tell he is thinking the same thing.

They all eventually leave for first period, and I pull out Magical Spells and Practices, Volume 1. I’ve skipped Chapter 3 (along with Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7) and tried looking for the parts that are pure theory. Maybe they’ll help me understand spellcasting better. My eyebrows furrow in thought as I study the diagrams at the beginning of the chapter. Maybe if I focus on the center of the object it’ll be more useful than focusing on the object as a whole?

The sound of a door opening causes my head to snap up. Sofia is stalking towards me, her nose snobbily turned up at me. My lip immediately curls in distaste.

“What do you want?” I mutter.

“Learn some manners,” she snarls. “I’m required to do a monthly checkup on my mentees. Sign here.”

She slaps a piece of paper down on the table in front of me. I glare at her for a moment, and then pull a pen out of my bag. Suddenly, it dawns on me:

“Did you know Meena Murthy?” I ask.

The effect on her is instantaneous: her eyes widen to the size of quarters and she freezes, simply looking at me in shock.

“Why do you want to know?” she finally says, forcing her features back into an expression of cold indifference.

I an eyebrow. “Just wondering. You two were in the same year. And she was in the scholarship group, too, right?”

“How do you know that?”

Damn. Sofia really at acting. I lean back in my seat, appraise her with a smirk.

“Why’re you getting so defensive?” I say innocently. “I just asked you a question.”

In the next moment, Sofia has stormed up to me, slammed her hand down right next to me. She looks utterly furious.

“You stupid little ,” she hisses. I can’t help but shrink back a little at the sheer loathing in her voice. “You honestly deserve everything that they do to you. God, I can’t wait till this semester’s over and I don’t have to see your face anymore.”

She storms out the lab, slamming the door behind her. I stare after her, totally stunned.

“Jesus,” I murmur.

Alright. It’s pretty clear that she knew Meena.

Maybe I hit a nerve- she was probably close to her. A pang of guilt hits my chest- I uncomfortably pick up my book again.

Yikes.

A/N: guys i am literally so homesick right now I'm on this farm in South Korea and like the people are nice and the food is good but omg........ I REALLY want to go home or at least go to Seoul/a city. I'm like here for 1.5 more weeks and like..... ksdjfoaksdfasiaewr9r30r9readfksdf im SO sad LOL i have writers block now because im just so drained.... like i tried reading bts and seventeen imagines last night to try and feel better but i just felt so empty and sad...... 

please cheer me up :'( :'( 

so at night wild pigs run around the farm apparently andthe dogs get in fights with them so i can't pee at night because the bathroom is a hole in the ground a ways away from my room, and the sink is further

but last night i couldnt take it so i peed outside my room at 11 PM and as i was finishing peeing i heard a noise and i sprinted back into my room, i you not 2 seconds later i hear scuffling outside my room and like my heart was racing so hard i want to go home :'(