Joohyun led Yerim out of Seungwan’s room, to a set of double doors located directly across from the top of the staircase. They were made of a supple, dark wood that had many mysterious looking engravings on it: thin, deep grooves that traveled from the outer edges of the door to the center, half-circle indentations that were partially filled with pieces of gold, and what appeared to be an engraving of a cat, perfectly bisected by the space between the two doors.

    Yerim stepped into Joohyun and Seulgi’s room, shutting the door behind her. To her surprise, it wasn’t all that remarkable; sure, the furniture looked expensive and the design was classical and undoubtedly antique, and maybe the bed was larger than Yerim’s entire room at home, but other than that, it was largely… normal. However, the brunette knew that first impressions obviously weren’t everything, especially when it came to these four girls (Seungwan had transformed her own room into a beach, for Christ’s sake).

    “Where’s Seulgi?” Yerim asked, looking around the empty room for any sign of the monolidded girl.

    “She went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit,” Joohyun replied, and if Yerim wasn’t mistaken, the older girl sounded just a bit flustered, “She should be back soon. You can sit on the bed if it’s more comfortable for you. So, what brings you here today?”

    Yerim took a seat on the lavish bed, drawing back the purple-colored curtains as she did so. She couldn’t help but feel as though she was in the doctor’s office; Joohyun’s choice of words were far too “medical professional-y” for her taste.

    “Well… the necklace you gave me, actually. I had some trouble with it.” Yerim handed the pendant over to Joohyun.

    “Oh no,” Joohyun said, her voice filled with concern, “Did it not work? I felt it activate a few times, it should have done its job. Are you hurt?”

    “No, I’m fine, the necklace worked,” Yerim said, that cold guilt beginning to slip its way into her stomach again, “But it activated when someone who wasn’t trying to hurt me grabbed me. I mean, he kind of scared me a little, but I wasn’t in danger…”

    “I see…” Joohyun muttered, holding the necklace up to her eyes and inspecting it, “Well, did you feel like you were in danger?”

    “No, I- well, actually, yeah,” Yerim said, racking her brain to fully recall the hazy incident, “The way he grabbed me reminded me of that man who chased me last night. It’s kind of foggy… but yeah. I think I might’ve freaked out a little.”

    Joohyun smiled comfortingly, reaching out and patting Yerim on the hand. As usual, the older girl’s touch relaxed her immensely.

    “Then the necklace did its job. It protected you when you felt threatened.”

    “But… the problem is that I wasn’t actually threatened. I just thought I was. And the boy who touched me, he had a seizure. He’s in the hospital now and I don’t know if he’ll be alright. Do you know, Joohyun?” Yerim asked uncertainly.

    “Oh dear, that’s certainly a problem,” the older girl furrowed her brow, a look of concern coming upon her face, causing Yerim’s heart to start racing frantically.

    “He’s not gonna die, right?” the hopelessness in Yerim’s voice was apparent; she was on the verge of tears.

    “If he hasn’t died yet, he’s not going to. Not from the necklace, anyway,” Joohyun said, still lost in thought, “What exactly happened to him? You said seizure, but what does that entail?”

    “Well, he immediately dropped to the ground and started shaking violently. And I didn’t know what to do… I knew it had to do with the necklace, it’s my fault for forgetting… When I took off the necklace, the seizure stopped and he just passed out… I didn’t mean to hurt him, Joohyun, honest.”

Yerim hated herself for the way her voice pitched up into a whine at the end of her sentence, and even more for the tears that were beginning to spill down her flushed cheeks. This outpouring was completely out of the blue; it was as if her emotions had bottled themselves up completely since last night, and whatever theoretical dam she had in place to keep them held back had finally burst.

Joohyun reacted instinctively, taking the crying brunette in her arms and cradling her as she sobbed. Yerim buried her face in the orange fabric of Joohyun’s dress, subconsciously kicking herself for breaking down like this.

“Shhh… there, there, Yerim,” the older girl murmured, “It’s alright. I think he’s going to be fine. You took off the necklace fast enough. The effects shouldn’t be permanent. He’ll be disoriented and weak for awhile, but I’m certain that there won’t be any lasting damage.”

Joohyun’s hold, like everything else about her, had some sort of supernatural serenity to it. Yerim could feel her heart rate beginning to slow, could feel her sobs turning themselves into sniffles.

“I’m sorry, Joohyun,” Yerim muttered, doing her best to keep her voice steady, “I don’t know what’s gotten into me… I’m not usually like this.”

“That’s okay,” Joohyun said, “People with PTSD can have wildly fluctuating emotions.”

The odd statement by the older girl caused Yerim to pause for a moment and draw back from Joohyun in order to look at her in the eyes.

“When I mentioned PTSD to you guys yesterday you didn’t seem to know what it was,” Yerim said, trying to keep herself from sounding accusatory.

“I know,” Joohyun said, a blush beginning to dominate her face, “It sounded serious, so I wanted to know if we could help you with it in any way. It’s a very interesting subject. Human psychology is very interesting in general. I studied a lot of it.”

“Aw, Joohyun,” Yerim said, smiling and wrapping her arms around the older girl, “That’s sweet. But I don’t think I actually have PTSD. I was just making a joke.”

“But you seemed to fit a lot of the signs and symptoms. Those flashbacks are what really convinced me.” Joohyun’s matter-of-fact tone reminded the brunette that as a witch, nothing really phased her.

Just as Yerim was about to answer, the door to the bedroom opened and Seulgi walked in. Instead of her usual orange attire, she was wearing a black and white dress that stopped just above her knees, with a pair of shiny high-heeled boots. She smiled upon seeing Yerim.

“Are you trying to steal my girlfriend?” she asked jocularly, and only then did Yerim realize that she hadn’t released the older girl from her hug.

Feeling very self-conscious, Yerim yanked herself away from the black-haired girl, who only giggled in response.

“No, of course she’s not,” Joohyun said, standing to meet Seulgi with a kiss on the cheek, “Sooyoung would kill me.”

“What?” Yerim asked, as she was too busy trying to collect herself to properly hear what Joohyun had to say.

Both girls broke out into fits of laughter, waving Yerim off and leaving her feeling very confused.

“Anyway, thanks for everything, Joohyun,” Yerim said gratefully, “But I need to go visit Jungkook in the hospital. I know you said he’s going to be alright, but I just feel like I have to check and make sure.”

“If it makes you more comfortable,” Joohyun said, moving with Seulgi to walk Yerim to the front door, “Whatever helps alleviate your unwarranted fears.”

Yerim assumed that last line was something from a psychology book.

“I’ll come back to see you all soon, okay?” Yerim said as Seulgi opened the front door for her.

“Oh wait!” Joohyun said, procuring the necklace from what seemed like nowhere (and probably was), “Here, you forgot your necklace.”

“Oh, no, I don’t think I’ll need it any-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Yerim glanced out at the treeline before them, a chill running up her spine as the claw-like branches rustled against one another in the breeze. When she turned back to Joohyun, the black-haired girl looked worried and sympathetic, her perfectly shaped eyebrows knit together and tucked into a small frown.

Yerim took the necklace back before saying her goodbyes and heading home.

***

    If there was one thing Yerim hated, it was hospitals. Ever since she was a child, the big, maze-like buildings had filled her with a sense of unease. With their migraine-inducing fluorescent lights, rooms full of unfamiliar equipment, and general vibe of cold sterility, they imprinted the worst memories on her, the most vivid of which being when her mother had cancer. Although it had occurred when she was very young, she could still remember the beeping of all the monitors, the big drug bags labeled “BIOHAZARD”, the Chinese takeout meals her father would buy her when they stayed overnight, her father-

    Yerim blinked to bring herself back to the present as she realized the elevator had arrived on the fifth floor: step-down ICU. She stepped out into the lobby and glanced at the large sign before her, indicating that rooms 510-530 were straight ahead. Jungkook was in 524. She got onto the unit itself no problem, as the boy was said to be in almost perfectly fine condition. Since school hadn’t let out yet, nobody else should be there, aside from his mother and immediate family. Hopefully they liked the bouquet of violet and yellow daisies the brunette had brought for them.

Yerim walked past the nurses’ station, where a short blonde-haired woman was chatting with a crimson-haired nurse behind a desk.

“Hi,” Yerim said, “Is the patient in room 524 taking visitors right now?”

“Oh, yes,” the blonde nurse said with a radiant smile, one that seemed vaguely familiar to Yerim, “He’s conscious. His parents went to get food for him, but I think it would be alright if you visited him. You’re a friend from school?”

“I am. I just wanted to make sure he’s doing okay.”

“You must be good friends then,” the nurse said with a sly glance at the flowers she held.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that… just friends, haha. Anyway, thanks!” Yerim said, wanting nothing more than to eject herself from the situation as much as possible. She silently prayed that Jungkook wouldn’t mistake her gesture of good faith as a sign of reciprocated affection.

As the brunette made her way to the room, she began to feel an uncomfortable mix of guilt and trepidation. Although she didn’t realize it, she was casually playing with the pendant of the ruby necklace as she knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Jungkook’s voice called, sounding (to Yerim’s relief) healthy and strong.

Yerim opened the door and walked in.

Jungkook lay on the bed, texting on his phone casually, smiling down at the illuminated screen. He was in one of the hospital gowns, with the sheets pulled up slightly past his hips. There were no IVs hooked up to him or anything extensive like that, and he appeared to be fairly relaxed.

He glanced up from his phone, smile fading and eyes widening as his face lost all color. His phone dropped from his hands and he moved away to the top left corner of the bed, as if he were trying his best to get as far away from Yerim as possible.

“Wh-what are you doing here?!” he practically shouted, his naturally cool voice becoming bombastic as his wild eyes focused on the brunette, “Did you come here to finish me off?!”

“Jungkook,” Yerim said evenly, stepping forward, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t get any closer to me!” he was screaming now, “I know you did it to me. I know you made me have that seizure. My parents don’t believe me, but I know it. I know it was you. You tried to kill me.”

“Please, Jungkook, I-”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”    

Yerim couldn’t move. She stood there, dumbstruck, attempting to collect her scattered, racing thoughts. Jungkook cowered on his bed, mashing the call button with his finger. He was completely and utterly horrified, and she was to blame. He’d told his parents, and they hadn’t believed him. And he was right.

She’d done this to him. It was her fault. He had every right to be scared of her. What she’d done to him would likely stay with him forever. She was no better than the serial killer from the previous night.

Yerim was still trying to figure out a way to respond when she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently but firmly from the room. As she was dragged out, she could see two of the nurses and a man who only could have been Jungkook’s father rushing in to try and calm the frantic boy down. The next thing Yerim knew, she was face-to-face with a tired older woman, one who likely was beautiful in her youth but was long past her glory days. To the young girl’s surprise, Jungkook’s mother did not seem angry at all, and her eyes conveyed a sense of apology that Yerim couldn’t quite grasp.

“I’m so sorry about that, sweetheart,” the older woman said, pulling her into an unexpected embrace. “I think he’s still delirious from what happened today.”

Yerim tried to muster a smile as she glanced at the ground.

“Yeah, that’s probably it...”

“I know he doesn’t sound it, but I’m sure he’s grateful for how quickly you responded to the situation. I know me and my husband are,” Jungkook’s mother continued, much to Yerim’s despair, “Once he’s fully recovered, I’m sure he’ll be able to see reason.”

“Y-you’re welcome.” Yerim answered shakily.

Jungkook’s mother’s look of pity only made her feel worse.

“I should go,” Yerim said, practically ing the flowers into the older woman’s hands, “Can you give those to me for him? I-I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused.”

“Oh, it’s fine, don’t-”

But Yerim was already gone.

She was sprinting through the hospital, down all five flights of stairs, past employees and patients that gave her dirty looks, through the exit, to the parking garage outside, flinging herself into the driver’s seat of her car and taking off at a dangerous speed. As she pulled out of the parking deck and onto the highway, she screamed, pressing the accelerator to the floor. Her breaths came in short pants, sweat beginning to accumulate on her brow as she fought the urge to break down again. She wanted someone to cry to, someone she could admit the full truth to without any fear of judgement, without any secrets. She’d already cried to Joohyun, she couldn’t do that again; she didn’t want to become a burden on the woman.

But she knew of someone else she could tell.

------------------------------

I wonder who she's gonna go to...

Thanks for reading<3