The dance teacher stood near the window as she was watching her students do the routine for the nth time.

"Five, six, seven, eight!" the teacher roared.

She looked beautiful, but her eyes were rather sharp and cruel. She was so strict that her students had to strain hard just to do the dance routines right.

"Park Min Young, mwo hae (what are you doing)?" she singled out one student.

The student shut her eyes for another mistake, but she kept on, just as the teacher had told them to.

And finally, the school bell rang.

"All right, class dismissed," she said dryly.

The students limped out of the room, complaining about the tiredness. As they went out, they greeted a teacher, who was standing by the door. The teacher from the outside came in.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Park-seonsaengnim?" the male teacher greeted.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Jo-seonsaengnim?" she greeted back.

"Seonsaengnim, it's lunch time already," Jo-ssaem said. "Shall we go?"

"Ah, ne, please wait for me at the faculty room," Park-ssaem said. "I will go and change."

****

The teachers went to a fancy restaurant to eat lunch.

"When we are together, please don't be shy to call me Hyun Jae," Jo-ssaem said.

"Ah, but, our relationship is professional," Park-ssaem said.

"Well, who knows, in the long run, we will get comfortable with each other," Jo-ssaem said.

Park-ssaem smiled uneasily.

"Ah, geurae..."

"Will you allow me to call you 'Kahi'?" Jo-ssaem said.

"Ah... ne..." Kahi replied.

They had some luxurious time talking and getting to know each other, but Kahi was too much uptight and uncomfortable with the other teacher, who was just too 'fast' in trying to win her. After lunch, both of them went back to school.

*****

As the two teachers went in the school campus, two students met them and greeted them. Jo-ssaem gave a slight bow, but Kahi did not even return the greeting.

"Awww... Park-seonsaengnim is a real beauty," Jung Yong Hwa, a music student, commented in a dreamy voice.

"Aish, jinjja," his friend, Go Younha, retorted. "That teacher is a real bruja."

Yong Hwa turned to Younha.

"Ani. Park-ssaem is really gorgeous," Yong Hwa said. "She is y, hot, and she's my type."

"Tsk, tsk, you are hopeless," Younha cringed.

"More like hopelessly in love," he replied with a smirk.

"Do you really know what you are talking about?" she asked him. "She's a killer not only in the dance floor, she is a killer in the campus."

"I don't care if students hate her," Yong Hwa said. "I like her."

"Aish... and you know, she is already 31 years old," Younha said. "Can you see yourself involved in a May-December love affair?"

Yong Hwa nodded in great confidence.

"Sheesh, you just look like a namdongsaeng to her," she said dryly.

Younha tapped her guitar.

"Are you really that in love with her?" she asked. "Like, she is your forever?"

"Ne."

"Seriously?"

"You don't believe me?"

Younha heaved a heavy sigh.

"Have you tried doing something to make Park-ssaem look at you?"

Yong Hwa enumerated his previous attempts, but Younha shook her head.

"Hopeless, hopeless," she tsked.

"If you think I am hopeless, do you have a solution to suggest?" was his exasperated question.

Younha mysteriously looked around and leaned closer to him.

"You know, some little bird told me that there is businesswoman near the mall who sells mysterious drugs," Younha whispered. "They say her medicines are really effective. And her potions are number one!"

Yong Hwa looked at his best guitar pal curiously.

"Why are you whispering to me? What's wrong if everybody knows about it?"

"That is the thing!" Younha said. "It is a business that is known only to a certain few. Her front in her business is selling antiques and old musical instruments. Her real business is medicines."

"Why would she even do that?" Yong Hwa asked.

"Because..."

Then, she looked around cautiously before whispering back.

"She is a witch."

Yong Hwa snickered at her revelation.

"Ohoho, I don't believe in such things!" he said.

"Well, if you don't, your hopeless problem won't get fixed," Younha said dryly.

Yong Hwa thought that he just had to believe her after all.

"Where is it located?" he asked.

"I am sure you have heard of the store called 'Circe'," she told him.

"Ah, ne! That one," Yong Hwa said. "It is near Lotte."

"That's the one," Younha said.

"Younha-ya, can you please go with me there this afternoon?" he pleaded.

"Mianhae, Chingu-ya, Eomma and I will be shopping for gifts," Younha said.

Both students got back to class, and the whole afternoon, Yong Hwa was dreaming of the day that Kahi will finally fall in love with him.

Circe.

He had to go there.

~~~~