A/N: Oof. Just noticed something I'll render as trigger warning, if not the whole chapter right? Mild mention of bullying. I got caught off guard by an 'imagined' derogatory term I put in here ooof. Wow, past me was a little edgy! xD

"We've been hiding this for our whole lives. Why am I changing my mind now?" Naeun grumbled, hiding her face in her palms. "But it's worse for us if we don't tell them. This has been eating me up inside."

Hayoung pursed her lips at that. "Just because Bomi unnie and Namjoo unnie have told us everything about them, it doesn't mean your worries about yourself aren't valid, unnie. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Naeun stayed silent as the younger comforted her. 

"I'm ready whenever you're ready, okay? I don't mind telling them and I don't mind not telling them. I want you to be the one to decide for us." 

"Are you sure? You don't hate me for outing us and doing that to you out of the blue? I didn't ask if you were okay with it–"

"I trust you, unnie," Hayoung said earnestly, holding her hand and giving it a squeeze. 

If it was between the two of them, Naeun had to be the one to say it, in order to overcome her fears. 

She was ready. 

"Naeun-ah, you don't have to," Chorong reminded her carefully.

"No, it's okay. I want to."

Everybody got comfortable in their seats, having left the flower shop to hear the news. 

"But in order to understand, I think we have to take it from the very beginning. My beginning."

~★~

Fainting for Naeun only happened under psychological stress and anxiety. Often mistakenly, her brain would activate the response thinking she was in some physical danger. It stemmed from the events of her early childhood and Naeun developed a subconscious fear of revealing her unique identity ever since. 

"You're a freak!"

"A monster!"

"Demon witch!!"

Kids were wide-eyed and huddled in fear in the corner of the playground, playing bystanders to the fight. The classmate they were so scared of was beaten into the dirt, covered in bruises and muck. Son Naeun didn't know what was going on. 

Big kids pummelled at her. Sticks, stones and words were thrown at her.

She was a small girl different from the rest. An outcast. A loner. 

A witch.

✥ ✥ ✥ ~

WITCH  :

Related to wizards, magicians, sorcerers, warlocks and so on. A human female with magical powers, stereotypically associated with dark magic and forces of evil. They are often depicted with a wand, a broomstick, a pointy cone-shaped hat and black clothing. [See: Harry Potter]

~ ✥ ✥ ✥

It was discovered she could wield magic as a child by being able to levitate light-weighted items, such as leaves, a few inches off the ground. Every magic wielder went through the same thing in their prepubescent years, except Naeun was a rare case. She was born from a non-magical family. 

It wasn't widely understood why cases like this happen. It might have been the result of a genetic mutation. Perhaps it linked back to ancestry. Maybe it was an accident of nature. 

Her parents were ordinary folk who were just as astonished at her ability, but what made them different was that they loved their daughter all the same. They didn't ask for any of this to happen, and yet they embraced it wholeheartedly. 

Malicious rumours spread through her superstitious small town and Naeun was bullied. Just like that, the Son family was ostracised by their community. They moved away, and the town's memory of it wiped.

Prior to their leave, they received a mysterious letter that opened them to this new world, like a helping hand into the uncertainty of Naeun's future.

It came to them by magical means. A paper crane that seemingly appeared out of nowhere landed at the dinner table and unravelled itself before their eyes, revealing the message.

Their little girl was accepted into a school they hadn't enrolled for. The transfer began immediately it said. There was no denying what had to be done. 

The Son couple met with the school's principal and were informed about everything. It was a mixed academy, involving magical and non-magical classes, studies and students. They accepted magical students of all backgrounds through their gates and promoted the integration, as opposed to the separation, of young witches and wizards with ordinary students. This was mainly to encourage healthy relationships and harmony.

Of course, the non-magic side of the school wasn't aware of it. 

This was more about magical students being able to co-exist with magicless, to put aside their differences and get along — something that was proven to be troublesome in wider society, with many having grown up without this experience. The wizarding community generally saw themselves as superior. There was a lack of respect for magicless and so they often acted recklessly, creating scenes to be covered up. 

And that's where the need for change came about. 

Slowly but surely, with schools like theirs popping up one after another, a change was being instilled in the new generation.

~★~

"Our school! Our school had a double life like that??" 

Besides Bomi, the girls who had all attended that very school were gaping. Naeun and Hayoung could only nod like it wasn't a big deal. This was what their lives were like.

~★~

Her sudden transfer spoke volumes to the students in her magic class. Fortunately, she was taken in by her peers as an interesting peculiarity rather than a reject. They were very accepting and Naeun began to flourish there.

This was where she met Hayoung. Then, a rather arrogant young girl of two magical parents who held great promise for the magical arts. She entered the school a few years after Naeun and was almost always at the top of her grade. 

Oh Hayoung was salty about her progressive parents for forcing her into this unique school. It was an attempt to humble their spoiled child. Looking back now, the brunette was grateful that it worked. She would cringe, finding it hard to believe that once upon a time she had been that kind of person.

Her perspective on magicless people spun around as she adapted to her environment. Soon she made all kinds of friends and relished in the freedom of enjoying things like technology and video games without being judged. 

Due to their differences, Naeun and Hayoung showed a mutual dislike for one another at first. But the change in Hayoung made her more open to people. Although Naeun's background was common knowledge in their magical cohort, the younger girl wanted to hear about it directly from the source. 

As they became more familiar with each other through social circles and other school activities, Naeun's once intimidating impression of the foreign-looking girl was shattered and they became friends. She learnt that she was intelligent, a little awkward, and had a passion for many things they learnt in classes. From wizarding history to ancient civilisations and from jinxes to science, Hayoung was an inquisitive kid. 

Eventually, Hayoung ended up asking about her past. It was strange because this had never really happened before. Nobody would dare to ask since her transferral. It was like an unspoken topic. This girl, on the other hand, was different. She was persistent.

Although Naeun was aware their close friendship would lead up to that conversation, she wasn't prepared for her body's adverse reaction. Caught off guard and losing control, she hyperventilated. 

Hayoung was bold and quick to react. She did the same thing back then as she did now. Firmly gripping her slumped figure, saying comforting words, getting Naeun to focus on nothing but her until she calmed down. Naturally, the younger girl's actions surprised Naeun to no end, bu