“I’m planning on popping the question at today’s party,” Lucy quietly adds. “Jin’s going to be there to back me up. Jungkook... should understand.”

Dev’s lip curls. “I don’t want to rely on that scumbag sorcerer-,”

“Well, we don’t have a choice.” I eye him worriedly. It’s clear that he’s lost a significant amount of weight. There are bags under his eyes, his nails are bitten down- signs of fatigue and impending burnout that are all too familiar. “You can’t keep going at this solo. You need help.”

The bell rings. I straighten up, breaking the tension in the air.

“We’ll talk about this later tonight. Lucy, keep us posted on how everything goes.”

“Gotcha,” Lucy says, sliding off the bench. “See you all soon.”

As her and Tom walk to class, I turn to face Dev. His eyes are staring at the floor, unfocused. I crouch down in front of him, take his hands in mine.

“Dev. Please.” I murmur. “You’re literally killing yourself right now. I know how you feel, but if you don’t take a break, you’re going to burn out.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Dev says softly. “How am I supposed to balance everything? Recruiting for internships and magical engineering and my family and school?”

“Exactly. You need to cut back on something. This whole sorcerer situation is important, but compared to all those other things...,” I take a deep breath. “In a year, we’re going to be leaving for college. We’re leaving all of this behind. Magic is... temporary.”

He looks up at me with an unreadable expression.

“Do you really think we’ll live a normal life while knowing about magic?” he utters.

I open my mouth to answer... but find myself at a loss for words.

Unfortunately, life continues to slip from mediocrity to downright unpleasantness.

I head to Advanced Physics II- which I was placed in this semester after... testing out last semester. This class is thankfully not taught by Mrs. Stone. It’s pretty nice. Just a bunch of seniors who ignore me so I can draw free-body diagrams in peace.

“Alright, class, I know we’ve been studying some pretty intense content recently. That’s why we’re going to take a lab day!” Mr. Johnson announces. “You and a partner will have to find examples of physics concepts on this worksheet.”

Alexa Martinez frowns down at the worksheet she’s just been handed. “Do we just find examples online?”

“Great question! You’ll actually be looking for them around school. You get to walk around and stretch. Fun, right?”

The class noncommittedly grunts in unison. I internally sigh. What a waste of time. At least I’ll get a little alone time.

“Let me read off your partner assignments,” Mr. Johnson says. My face crinkles up in annoyance as the class groans.

“Can we please pick our own partners?” James Maddey whines.

“Hey, now, we’re all friends. Your partner shouldn’t be a problem!”

“Mr. Johnson, please-,”

“Shh. Okay, Connor and Sanah, you’re a pair.”

Sanah rolls her eyes at her next-seat neighbor.

“Jamie and Miriam, Alexa and Ella, Jimin and Jooyeon-,”

My jaw drops in horror.

No way. This has to be a joke. I sit frozen in my seat, refusing to move.

“Jooyeon?” Mr. Johnson calls. Jimin is waiting for me at the front of the classroom, a cheerful smile on his face. My stomach twists into knots; , he’s going to destroy me.

“Sorry,” I say, hastily grabbing my paper and heading to Jimin’s side.

“Hey there,” Jimin says in a sugary sweet voice.

“ off,” I mutter as we walk to the door. The instant we leave the classroom, the friendly expression on his face disappears.

“This day keeps getting better and better,” he growls. The air around us begins to grow thick with heat.

“Throw your temper tantrum later,” I snap. “Let’s just get this over with.”

We march down the main hallway in silence. I can hear the sounds of other groups chattering away in different corners.

“We’re walking,” Jimin suddenly says, snatching the paper from my hands. He scribbles something down on the first line. “There’s friction between our shoes and the floor.”

“Great,” I say bluntly. I spot the cafeteria on the other side of the building across the courtyard. “There’s food in the cafeteria. The chemical energy of the food is converted into mechanical energy.”

“That doesn’t count-,”

“Do you give a ?”

Jimin glares down at me. He looks as exhausted as I’ve ever seen him; pale, with dark circles under his eyes and unstyled brown hair. My lip curls up into a sneer. I abruptly snatch the paper from him and scrawl, Food.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a scholarship student?” he asks archly.

“Aren’t you supposed to not be talking to me right now?”

“God, you’re such a .”

Wow. No clenched fists or heat waves of magic? He must really be tired. I pointedly choose to ignore his comment. We continue walking.

Suddenly, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I check the screen.

Lucy: Can we make this for dinner tonight: https://tasty.co/recipe/japanese-pork-cutlet-tonkatsu-with-curry

My lips curl up into a smile. I text back, Hell yea, we can pick up ingredients on our way home :)

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Jimin looking at my phone screen. I look up at him- he looks away too late.

“Cell phones are another example of physics,” he utters, wearily writing it down on our paper. My eyebrows shoot up. I’m definitely not imagining the hurt I caught on his face before his cool mask slipped into place.

“What?” he snaps when he sees me staring at him.

“Dude, just spill. What is up with you?”

“What the are you talking about?”

“Are you kidding? You look like you’ve just walked out the pits of hell. You haven’t even threatened to zap me today.”

“Oh, that’s definitely still on the table.”

“Yeah, yeah. If you tried taking a step towards me, you’d probably pass out and fall asleep.”

Jimin abruptly wheels around to face me. “Oh, gee, let me think,” he says in his fake student-body-president-and-star-lacrosse-player-good-boy voice. “Why am I having a bad day? Maybe it’s because I had to submit a huge report on you to Kado HQ last night. Or maybe because all my friends hate me. Oh, and the best part is that in a few months, I’m getting shipped off to Harvard- just like the past three generations of my family- and leaving the only people I care about!”

He ends his little diatribe by practically shouting in my face. I stare at him with wide eyes, utterly taken aback.

“Uh... wow,” I say after a long pause. “That was... a lot.”

“Yeah, just a little.”

“Why did you have to write a report on me?”

“Apparently you can create magical ing objects for no reason. Because that totally makes sense. I had to spend hours tracking down your stupid dad in Kentucky-,”

I freeze. “Wait, what?”

“Why are you surprised? I had to check if you inherited powers from him.” Jimin scoffs. “He’s as magical as the ing trailer park he lives in.”

It feels like someone’s erpunched me straight in the stomach. My father. Jimin knows where my father is?

“How did you find him?” I ask, trying and failing to keep my voice from shaking.

Jimin scoffs. “Aww. Did you think we couldn’t track your wittle Mommy and Daddy down?”

“Well, my mom and I couldn’t find him, so you’ve beat us both there.” I say sharply. “Send me his address. He has 16 years worth of child support checks to pay.”

I turn on my heel and keep walking, attempting to compartmentalize the information I’ve just learned. Big deal, Joo, I tell myself. He knows where your totally irrelevant deadbeat dad is. Who cares?

I get halfway to the Arts department, which is probably full of acrylic paints and photo development rooms and other semi-physics-related-things, before I realize Jimin isn’t next to me. Turning, I ask, “Are you coming or not?”

To my surprise, he is standing exactly where I left him, an unreadable look on his face. When I clear my throat, he suddenly starts.

“I’m coming,” he utters, his characteristic acidity gone.

We are silent for a few more minutes... before the curiosity kills me.

“I have to ask,” I say in a low voice. “What exactly.... what was my.... what was he doing?”

Jimin is quiet. He fiddles with the black chain around his neck.

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asks.

No. “Yeah.”

“He’s living with his girlfriend. He does maintenance work around the city... lives a pretty... average life.”

“You’re leaving things out.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Just-,” Jimin clenches his jaw. “This isn’t a conversation I want to be having right now.”

“What? You brought this up. Why, are you emotionally unprepared for telling a girl about the father she never knew?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Would that have even changed anything?”

Jimin doesn’t answer. I let out a short bark of laughter.

“Poor, poor Jimin,” I say, a wry smile on my face. “Can’t even imagine not having a perfect nuclear family.”

“They’re not perfect,” Jimin says quietly.

“Aww, why not? Wish you had a Stanford legacy instead of Harvard?”

He looks at me, his eyes blazing. “You have no idea.”

I cross my arms. “Then enlighten me.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“You think I wouldn’t understand ty families? You literally just brought up my absentee father.”

Jimin snorts. “Yeah, well, at least you had one parent that loved you.”

Whoa. I raise my eyebrows. “Do your parents have really high expectations?” I ask carefully.

“That’s an understatement. I’m the future of the Kado,” he says in a mocking tone. “The future of the Park dynasty. Blah blah blah.”

“Because you’re Junior Vice Captain?”

His eyes snap to me. “How do you know that?”

, Joo, you idiot!

“Uh, um-,” I begin to stammer, but Jimin rolls his eyes.

“Jin must’ve told you,” he mutters.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I exhale.

“Not just being Junior Vice Captain- although that was the ing icing on the cake,” Jimin says. “It’s... complicated. And doesn’t concern you. But the Kado’s just a giant power struggle.”

“Well, yeah, you put a million sorcerers together, and you don’t expect some sort of death match for power?” I retort.

He cracks the faintest smile. My jaw drops.

“Wow. Did I just make you smile?” I say incredulously.

All vestiges of humor disappear from Jimin’s face. “No.”

“O-kay,” I hum. “Wow. Look how much we have in common. ty parents and a love for Lucy.”

Jimin gives me a dark scowl. “I don’t love her.”

“Uh, sure.”

“Don’t mistake me performing my duties for love.”

“Having with her was a part of your duties?”

“That doesn’t even-,”

“Doesn’t matter, anyway, because that’s Jungkook’s job now,” I snigger.

Jimin looks at me with a furious expression. I note with satisfaction that his normal fiery demeanor has returned.

“Touchy subject?” I ask innocently.

“Go yourself.” He pauses, a nasty smile on his face. “I don’t think you have any other choice, now that Taehyung and you are over.”

My face heats up. “I don’t want Taehyung.”

“Which is why I constantly see you staring at him when you’re in the same vicinity.”

“Yeah- well- shouldn’t you be happy? I moved out. I left him alone.”

“Oh, I’m thrilled. You just need to leave Windsong and I’ll be the happiest man in the world.”

“Ha ha.” I pause for a second. I have a risky question to ask Jimin- all logic tells me I shouldn’t make him suspicious, but I’m incredibly curious.

“Were you and Lucy close before you took her memories?” I question.

Jimin’s face hardens.

“That’s irrelevant.”

“Because I’ve seen the pictures. She was buddy-buddy with pretty much everyone... except for you.”

“Kind of hard to be buddy-buddy with your worst enemy,” Jimin snarks under his breath. I look at him in surprise.

“Worst enemy? But why?”

“None of your business.”

“Was it because you liked her? Or... maybe... both of you were trying to be the most powerful sorcerers... and she was in the way?”

Jimin whips his head around to me so suddenly that I jolt backwards.

“You might be under the delusion that we’re friendly after our whole conversation,” he says, seething. My skin prickles with uncomfortable needles of heat. “I can assure you that’s not the case. Stay the hell away from me. I won’t hesitate to crush you.”

Jesus. I warily back away from him. Was I just annoying him, or did I touch a sensitive subject?

Dammit. I was so close.

“Here.” Jimin slaps our physics worksheet against my arms. “We’re done. Now get lost.”

That night, while I am pondering upon the events of the day, my phone buzzes with a new email.

From: UNKNOWN SENDER

Is it a virus? Should I call Dev? Against my better judgement, I pull out my laptop and open the email.

From: UNKNOWN SENDER

No Subject

When you’re ready.

[11 Files Attached]

After running a quick antivirus scan on the files, I open one.

I gasp.

It’s a document with my father’s full name, physical description, social security number... everything. A quick glance at the other documents reveals an even greater depth of information about my father- the address of his workplace, a log of his behavior for a week, the details on his new girlfriend. My eyes catch the words heroin, domestic abuse, diabetes-

I shut my laptop as fast as I can. My entire body is trembling uncontrollably- I feel like I’m about to throw up.

I can’t fall asleep that night until the sun rises.