“I should be going soon, guys,” Yerim said after returning from her third trip outside of the circle, “I’m starting to get really dirty.”

    And it was true. Yerim’s school uniform had already been wrinkled and stained from the fight earlier in the day (a fight that felt as though it had occurred eons ago), and after what felt like hours of practicing with the crossbow (along with trying out some of the other weapons, none of which Yerim had much of a knack for), her clothes were muddy and drenched with sweat. Who would’ve thought loading a crossbow would be so much work?

    “Aw, come on, Yeri!” Sooyoung whined, a pout forming on her face as she unnocked the arrow she was about to fire, “We haven’t even gotten to sword fighting yet!”

    Although Seungwan didn’t offer any protest about Yerim’s departure, the younger girl could see a look of disappointment on the face of her friend. This expression was overridden by Sooyoung’s declaration, replaced by an almost comical reaction of shock.

    “Sooyoung, we can’t sword fight with Yeri like we do with each other. She can get hurt.”

    “Oh, but we can just heal her!” Sooyoung said innocently, though Yerim was already vigorously shaking her head.

    “She can feel pain, Sooyoung. I’m sure she’d much rather watch.”

    “Yes, please.” Yerim chimed in.

    “That’s okay too,” Sooyoung said, her bow transforming into a black-hilted longsword as she spoke, “Even though that’s probably boring.”

    “No, no, I’m sure it’ll be super exciting,” Yerim assured, “I’ll be like… the cheerleader.”

    “My cheerleader?” Sooyoung asked, those big, puppy dog eyes reflecting the sunlight as she looked at Yerim expectantly.

    “I can’t be biased to one side, so I’ll cheer for both of you,” Yerim smiled at Seungwan, who smiled back before conjuring her own, shorter, sword, one with a golden hilt and intricate carvings along its length. Yerim found that she enjoyed seeing Seungwan smile, as it was a rare occurrence, one that was much more appreciable compared to her normal deadpan appearance.

    Neither of them noticed Sooyoung’s slight frown.

    The two witches squared up to one another, taking very specific, practiced stances. Sooyoung held her longsword up near her face with both hands, the position appearing almost comical when being performed by the beautiful, model-like girl, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. She appeared more inclined to play a volleyball tournament rather than participate in a swordfight.

    Seungwan held her blade in what Yerim took to be a more “traditional” manner: gripping it straight out in front of her. Although the sword still seemed a bit out of place in her hands, it looked a lot more fitting in the hands of the glowering Seungwan as opposed to the grinning Sooyoung.

    Yerim was only given a brief moment to appreciate the absurdity of both of their positions, as they quickly launched into combat. The two witches moved at astonishing speeds, their bodies dancing nimbly in the sunlight. Each time they moved, Yerim felt her heart jumping in anxiety, sweat palpably forming under her armpits and on her forehead. She knew that the witches likely weren’t able to be injured or maimed, but she was still concerned for them nonetheless.

Somehow, Seungwan’s billowy clothes didn’t seem to impede her at all; in fact, they acted as a sort of distraction as she moved, frequently disorienting Sooyoung into missing what little openings she was afforded. Seungwan’s strikes were deadly and swift, moving fast enough to produce a mix of swooshing noises each time they zipped through the air. As a counter to Seungwan’s speed, Sooyoung’s defenses were impeccable. She made it close to impossible for the older girl to strike directly at her, instead weaving around and parrying each blow with next to no effort.

It was difficult for Yerim to keep up for more than a few seconds duration. Her eyes simply weren’t quick enough. The instances in which the two girls crossed their swords directly rather than dodging each other’s strikes were the easiest for her to visualize, though this happened rarely enough that Yerim saw mostly a blur of clothes and steel and flesh.

However, Yerim realized the moment an attack was landed. Mainly because both fighters had ceased their dance, instead standing before one another, panting heavily, Sooyoung’s blade buried up to its handle in Seungwan’s stomach, its tip poking neatly out of the back of her dress.

Yerim couldn’t help herself. She screamed at the top of her lungs and staggered backwards, her head becoming light and reality flickering slightly as she tried to catch herself on the cool grass.

In an instant, two arms were wrapped around her body, pulling her back into a standing position and supporting her.

“Seungwan?” Yerim questioned, her voice weak and thready, turning to face the auburn-haired witch who’d caught her, “How?”

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Seungwan grumbled, rubbing Yerim’s back to comfort her, “I’m not hurt. We’re witches, remember?”

Yerim glanced down at the checkered folds of Seungwan’s clothing. They were intact, with no signs of penetration from the razor-edged steel. In order to be sure, Yerim reached out and poked the area that had been stabbed, eliciting a spasmodic giggle from Seungwan, who let out a shriek before jumping back in surprise. Though Yerim was able to stand on her own again, Sooyoung was suddenly right by her side, gripping her shoulders and holding her in a much more intimate manner than Seungwan had been, practically pressing the younger girl flush against her own front.

“Be careful Wannie!” Sooyoung whined, “Don’t let her fall!”

“Are you ticklish?” Yerim said in disbelief, ignoring the fact that Sooyoung’s body was pressed up against her back.

Seungwan looked up, her entire face taking on a cherry red hue, confirming Yerim’s suspicions.

“M-maybe a little bit…” she muttered, refusing to meet Yerim’s gaze.

“But when I tickle you, it never works! You just move away and curse at me,” Sooyoung chimed in indignantly, causing an immediate deepening of Seungwan’s blush, so much so that her ears became red as well.

“I… uh, sometimes-”

Seungwan was saved from the awkward situation by the arrival of Joohyun, who appeared seemingly from nowhere, jogging across the yard with a sternly worried expression on her face. She took Yerim by the shoulders, yanking her from Sooyoung’s grasp, her dark eyes scanning the shell shocked girl’s face and body with scrutiny and concern.

“I heard you scream,” Joohyun said as she inspected, “Are you hurt? Were you swordfighting? What happened?”

“I’m okay, Joohyun,” Yerim said, “I just saw Seungwan get stabbed by Sooyoung and it scared me, that’s all. I wasn’t involved.”

“Oh,” Joohyun replied with a sigh of relief, releasing the younger girl and straightening up, “Good. You can never be too safe.”

Yerim furrowed her brow. This was easily the most panicked she’d seen Joohyun in the interval she’d known her. It was almost unsettling. She wasn’t given much opportunity to think about it, though; Seulgi was making her way over now, though she didn’t teleport, instead walking out the backdoor of the house and into the yard. Joohyun turned to her girlfriend, offering her an icy glare.

“Go ahead, take your time,” Joohyun called peevishly, “Yerim could have died in the amount of time it took you to get here.”

“I can see that she’s fine!” Seulgi bit back, “I knew she wasn’t dead or hurt, if she had so much as a papercut Sooyoung would probably be crying-”

“Hey!” Sooyoung said indignantly, “I don’t cry that easily!”

“But what if no one else noticed?” Joohyun demanded, walking up to meet her significant other, “What if she was alone? Not that you care about her safety, anyway.”

“What?! Of course I care about-”

“Alright, enough!” Seungwan said, stepping between the two before they could meet, hands outstretched to cease both of their advances.

There was an air of harsh finality to the petite girls’ words, providing a weighted atmosphere over the entire area, as if she were exuding her own frustration.

Joohyun and Seulgi glowered at each other over Seungwan’s head, but neither woman dared to make a move. Seungwan’s head darted back and forth between the quarrelling lovers, offering them both warning glances.

In the dangerous stillness, Yerim was met with an unexpected sensation: that of someone wrapping their hand around hers. She turned to see Sooyoung drawing nearer to her, almost hiding behind her, the formerly combat-ready older girl now seeming decidedly meek.

“I-I don’t like it when they fight…” Sooyoung whispered, just audible enough for Yerim to hear.

Yerim reached back and patted the small of Sooyoung’s back, inadvertently coming close to touching the rather pleasant curve of the witch’s behind. The older girl didn’t seem to notice, and if she did, she certainly didn’t mind.

“You two can’t start fighting again,” Seungwan continued, “You know what happened last time.”

At this, Joohyun turned to look back at Sooyoung and Yerim, her posture relaxing and an expression of regret coming upon her feminine features. Seulgi backed off as well, her hands drawing up in front of her chest and her stance becoming very withdrawn. If Yerim wasn’t mistaken, there was a wet gleam in her eyes, as if she was about to cry.

“Sorry…” Seulgi muttered, simultaneously turning on her heel and hurrying away.

Joohyun glanced at Seungwan, who gave her a meaningful look in response.

“Go talk to her,” the younger girl said in a hushed tone.

Joohyun nodded and jogged after her girlfriend, who had already disappeared in the house. Seungwan watched her go, running a hand through her own hair and sighing in exasperation.

“Do they usually fight so much?” Yerim asked, absentmindedly running her thumb along the back of Sooyoung’s hand.

Seungwan turned, her gaze flickering upwards as she regarded how close Sooyoung and Yerim were. Her face showed no indication that she noticed, keeping its stony appearance.

“No. Not usually.”

Yerim gave a short nod in response. Despite how curious she was about the mysterious, suspicious source of Joohyun and Seulgi’s relationship problems, she knew that asking Seungwan would get her nowhere.

The silence was broken by a large, billowing yawn from Sooyoung, who looked thoroughly tuckered out. Yerim’s heart swelled upon seeing the older girl’s exhausted visage, her eyelids drooping lazily as she stifled another yawn behind her hand.

“I think you should go take a nap,” Seungwan said, “Yeri, do you mind tucking her in? I wanna go make sure that Joohyun and Seulgi don’t kill each other.”

“Tucking her in?” Yerim asked confusedly.

“Yeah… she doesn’t really need to be tucked in, but she prefers it. It helps her sleep better. Usually Joohyun does it, but I have a feeling that it’s probably best not to bother her.”

Sooyoung hummed in affirmation, her hold on Yerim’s hand tightening and her head dropping to rest atop the younger girl’s in a comical fashion.

“Okay…” Yerim carefully slipped out from under Sooyoung’s head and began leading her by the hand, “Let’s go up to your room then.”

“Thanks,” Seungwan said, an odd tinge of sincerity present in her voice, “We should hang out again sometime. Maybe without the sword fighting.”

“Maybe a tickle fight instead? I’d actually have an advantage in that one.”

Yerim turned and smiled at the auburn-haired witch, who offered an awkward grin, that same strong blush returning to her visage.

“Yerimmie… come on,” Sooyoung said weakly, pulling on her friend’s arm with little force, “I’m sleepy.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

Yerim gave Seungwan a quick wave goodbye before continuing to guide the child-like older girl.

The interior of the house was eerily quiet. There were no signs of Seulgi or Joohyun, and Yerim frankly preferred it that way, at least for now. She didn’t know if she was capable of dealing with that kind of stress again. The mere thought of it sent sinister spikes of anxiety into her stomach.

    As Yerim made her way to the staircase, she noted that the large, crudely fashioned wooden trapdoor that was tucked away in the corner of the kitchen. She had never really noticed it before, but it was almost completely hidden from view from most angles of the kitchen. It was bolted shut with a heavy metal lock, which seemed weirdly archaic for a group of spellcasters.

    When the pair arrived in Sooyoung’s room, the older girl nearly sprinted to her bed, plopping down onto the thick mattress with a soft thud. She then crawled up to her pillow, laying her head on it and looking at Yerim expectantly. Somehow, Sooyoung’s dirty sports outfit had transformed into a spotless pair of pink pajamas, and her platinum blonde hair was tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head. The younger girl came up to Sooyoung’s side and started fixing her covers for her, pulling the blankets over her body, straightening out all the wrinkles she could find. Yerim was adept at the fine art of putting someone to bed, as her younger sisters would almost always ask her to do so in their mother’s frequent, work-related absence.

    Sooyoung stared sleepily up at the younger girl as she went about her soothing acts, humming quietly to herself as she went.

    “I had a lot of fun with you today, Yerim,” Sooyoung remarked, yawning once more.

    “Me too. Thanks for making me feel better about everything that happened lately.” Yerim rubbed Sooyoung’s arm under the covers.

    “I’m glad I made you feel better. I don’t want you to be sad. You made me feel better too, because I didn’t have to play alone.”

To Yerim, Sooyoung’s matter-of-fact tone was the pinnacle of cuteness.

    “You have Seungwan. She played with you too.”

    “She usually doesn’t… I think she only invited us to join because you were around. She likes to play alone, remember?”

    “Oh, right,” Yerim said, furrowing her brow. She had finished getting Sooyoung situated in bed, and was now sitting on the edge of the mattress, her legs dangling over the hardwood floor, “Well… you know, maybe she just felt like playing with other people today.”

    “I don’t think that’s it.”

    Yerim almost laughed at how blunt Sooyoung could be sometimes.

    Both girls were quiet then, Yerim sliding her hand up and down Sooyoung’s arm as the older girl reached out to play with the ends of her hair. It was a comfortable kind of silence, one that felt intimate and warm.

    “I should get going soon,” Yerim said, preparing to stand, “I’ve got a lot to deal with at home.”

    “Why don’t you stay awhile and nap with me?” Sooyoung asked needily, “You said time doesn’t pass in your world if you stay here.”

    “Seungwan told me not to sleep within the circle. I might get trapped here, like you guys,” Yerim’s eyes widened and she inhaled sharply as she realized what she’d said, “Wait, no, that’s not what I meant-”

    “No, it’s okay,” Sooyoung replied with a reassuring smile, “I understand. It does get boring around here compared to out there.”

    “You used to live in the outside world, right?” the younger girl asked, relieved that she hadn’t upset her friend.

    “Mhm.”

    “Do you miss it?”

    “Definitely. Maybe not as much as Wannie does, but I do,” Sooyoung’s sentence was punctuated by another of her fluttering yawns, the biggest one yet, one that made her nuzzle her head deeper into the pillow as she started to nod off.

    “Goodnight, Sooyoungie,” Yerim whispered, standing.

    “Yerim…” the older girl muttered groggily, her lids half-shut.

    “Yeah?”

    “Can you give me a goodnight kiss?”

    “Um… does Joohyun normally do that?”

    “Nope,” Sooyoung said plainly, “But I want a kiss from you.”

    Yerim shifted nervously, the sound of her heart roaring against her eardrums as she stared down at the dozing older girl. Sooyoung’s bleary eyes were fixed on her, a deep sense of invitingness and longing filling their chocolate-hued depths.

    It shouldn’t have caught Yerim so off-guard; Sooyoung was both innocent and clearly infatuated with her, and as a result, such requests should have been expected. And what was the significance of it anyway? Just a little peck on the forehead. Or the nose. Or the cheek. Or… the lips.

    Yerim swallowed.

    “Why are you just standing there? Are you okay?” Sooyoung inquired, concern seeping into her voice.

    “I’m… f-fine...” Yerim lied.

    “Okay.”

    Yerim bent over, sweeping her own hair out of the way, moving painfully slowly as she went to give the angel-faced girl below her a kiss. At first, she thought she could just aim for Sooyoung’s cheek, and that would be it.

However, Sooyoung had other plans.

The witch turned her head just as Yerim was about to kiss her, the younger girl’s lips pressing up against a pair of rosy, moist crescents rather than her cheek.

Yerim was taken aback, but found herself immediately captivated. Sooyoung’s lips were nothing short of immaculate. They were heavenly and sweet, tasting of stars and planets and light and many other abstract, celestial bodies that Yerim couldn’t even attempt to describe. She could feel Sooyoung smiling against her lips. The older girl reached up and caressed Yerim’s cheek, her fingertips creating a twinkling path of electricity that jolted Yerim out of her stupor. She detached, pulling back quickly, but remaining close to the side of the bed.

    Sooyoung lay there, her face pink, her orbs no longer filled with exhaustion, instead calm and contemplative, regarding Yerim with a wanting stare. Her inhales came heavy, her chest rising markedly at each apex.

    “Sooyoung… why’d you do that?” Yerim asked, unable to articulate properly in her flustered state,her lips and face still tingling from the kiss.

    “I dunno…” Sooyoung muttered, her stare dropping downwards, though the wide grin on her face remained, “Are you mad at me?”

    “No, of course not, I’m just… a little shocked.”

    Sooyoung giggled and shifted in bed, pulling the covers up to hide the bottom half of her face, as if she were trying to hide herself.

    Yerim couldn’t help but laugh. At the absurdity of the situation, at Sooyoung’s impossibly pure nature, at her own flusteredness.

    “I’ve never kissed a girl on the lips before,” Sooyoung admitted, her words muffled beneath the covers.

    “Neither have I. What made you do it?”

    “Because I knew you wouldn’t get mad.”

    “Well… okay,” Yerim said, accepting Sooyoung’s poorly veiled answer so as not to upset the older girl.

    Yerim still had no clue how she felt about the witch. There was surely some kind of advanced sentiment there, more so than a simple friendship, but it was impossible to place exactly what Yerim was experiencing. The same issues still remained. She’d had little opportunity to ruminate over any of it, given the events that she’d been experiencing as of late.

    On the other hand, Sooyoung was very clearly falling harder and harder for her human friend.

    “I should really get going now,” Yerim said finally, “I have a lot to deal with at home.”

    “Oh… okay,” Sooyoung said, her mood visibly becoming downcast, a tiny pout forming on her lips (those same lips that Yerim had just kissed).

    “Hey,” Yerim turned Sooyoung’s head so that their eyes were locked, “Don’t be sad, okay, Sooyoungie? I’ll be back soon.”

Sooyoung sprung up from the mattress and flung both arms around the younger girl. Yerim responded by patting Sooyoung’s pajama-covered back, rubbing in slow circles.

“It’s never soon enough,” Sooyoung huffed.

    “Would you feel better if I gave you another kiss?” Yerim offered without thinking.

    “Yes!” the witch excitedly dropped back into bed, her head hitting the pillow at mach speed, “I would feel much better!”

    “Alright, but… just on the cheek this time.”

    “Okay!” Sooyoung said, undeterred.

    Yerim moved like lightning, pressing her lips to the smooth contour of Sooyoung’s cheek, drawing her head back up before the older girl could employ any more of her tricks.

    “I really gotta go now,” Yerim said, patting Sooyoung’s shoulder.

    “Bye Yerimmie,” Sooyoung said, nuzzling into the pillow, “See you later.”

    “See you.”

    Yerim left the room, shutting the door behind her with as little noise as possible. She strode down the hall, running her hand over the marbled wooden rail beside her, taking a moment to peer out one of the windows. The sky outside had gone from a permanent sunset to a sudden, inky nighttime, and not much was visible beyond the backyard. It was likely one of the other girls’ doing, in order to help Sooyoung sleep better. It would be odd to experience that rapid shift back to dusk when she departed from the circle.

The interior of the house was lit strictly by candlelight. The flames danced against the walls, forming shifting shadows that brushed at the spaces around them, warping when they met a corner or angle. The house should have been an eerie place, but it was quite the opposite. To Yerim, the outside world was much scarier and uncertain than anything that went on here. And that concerned the high schooler very much.

As Yerim turned to descend the staircase, she caught a glimpse of Seungwan through the banister. The auburn-haired girl was leaning up next to the front door, staring off into space, as if she were contemplating something.

    “I’m heading home,” Yerim said, “I’ve got to go get yelled at by mom.”

    “Hm?” Seungwan snapped out of her reverie, only just noticing the presence of the younger girl, “Oh, yeah. Good luck with that. I’m sure if you explain what happened, she’ll understand.”

    “I hope so…” Yerim said, taking the final step into the foyer of the house, staring up contemplatively at the large, crystalline chandelier.

    “What about your dad?” Seungwan asked, “Will he be mad?”

    “Oh, my dad?” Yerim bit her lip, a mix of sadness and anxiety coming upon her, “He passed away a few years ago.”

    “Oh, I’m sorry,” Seungwan said, her absent expression replacing itself with one of sympathy, one that involved a widening of the eyes and a downturning of the mouth, one that was routine from anyone she told this fact to, one that Yerim practically hated at this point, one that Yerim would have been angrier at, had it not been Seungwan.

“It’s fine,” Yerim said, stepping up to the front door, “I’ll see you later, Seungwan.”

“Yerim, wait,” Seungwan said, her hand lightly resting itself upon Yerim’s shoulder.

The younger girl turned, her stomach filled with dread.

“If things get bad at your house, just know you can always come back here, okay?” Seungwan said, completely subverting Yerim’s expectations.

Yerim expected questions. She expected Seungwan to ask what had happened to her father. She expected Seungwan’s look of sympathy to become even more pronounced when Yerim reluctantly told her that her father had jumped off of the Washington Bridge, several miles from their home.

“Thanks, Seungwan,” Yerim said with a smile, adding some nonverbal gratitude for her lack of questioning, “I’ll keep that in mind. Tell Seulgi and Joohyun I said bye too, okay?”

“I will,” Seungwan promised.

Yerim wanted to hug the older girl, but decided against it. She knew Seungwan wasn’t very big on hugs.

The front door shut behind her of its own accord, leaving Yerim to begin her long trek back to reality.

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Thanks for reading<3