ACT II

The winter air was frigid against her skin. Even taking her hands out of her pockets to hold her phone and call Jun was too difficult, as they would freeze as soon as they made contact with the wet, cold air.

She entered a convenience store and made the call.

“Arin, is that you?” Jun asked from the other end of the line.

“Yes, it’s me. I managed to get out of the building.”

“Oh! That’s amazing news! So are you willing to help us?”

“Well, I have nowhere else to go…”

“We’ll take care of you, Arin. I promise. Can you come to us?”

“How?”

“Do you have some money for public transport? I can send you the location of MRS headquarters.”

“I have a little bit,” she felt the little money she had left in her pocket.

“Alright. Use it to get to headquarters, and MRS will reimburse you for everything. I’ll let the leader know you’re coming.”

“But I can’t meet anyone,” she reminded him. “It’s too dangerous. I already know your name.”

“Don’t worry. It will all be taken care of, trust me. Just get here.”

“Okay,” Arin replied, hesitantly.

“Thank you so much, Arin. This means so much to us. You will not regret it!”

Arin smiled. It was nice to be acknowledged, to be thanked. In all her years of working for Jeonghan, she was never thanked once, never appreciated for her sacrifices or her troubles. Already, she was feeling more confident in her decision. Or maybe this was part of the trick?

-

She finally arrived at her destination after taking two trains and one bus. With every step she took, it felt like she was putting more and more distance between her and that miserable building.

Upon seeing the building, however, she felt nauseous again. The building was purple: the color of dying faces. The color she hated.

Maybe it was because she hadn’t eaten in too long, or maybe it was the harsh cold against her face, but she felt like she wanted to faint. She had to lean against a nearby tree to regain composure and face the building like a normal person.

She called Jun again.

“I’m here,” she told him, looking at the floor to avoid facing that color again.

“Perfect! I’m inside. Go through the front door, you’ll find a couple there. Fair warning: they’re a bit weird. Anyways, all name tags and identifications were removed, and they were warned not to say any name. They’ll do a little spell, and you’ll be able to come inside.”

“Spell?”

“Trust me. Not a bad spell.”

Arin did not know what to make of that, but somehow, whenever he said ‘trust me,’ she trusted him more. It was strange actually. It was probably his charm, but Arin also considered the possibility that magic was involved as well. Maybe this was part of the illusion?

She took a deep breath and headed toward the entrance.

Besides its color, there was nothing particularly menacing about the building. It was located in the outskirts of the city, so there was a lot of greenery around it. It actually looked like a farm villa. For a big scary magical organization, the headquarters building was very small and tame. It didn’t seem like the place of torture chambers that ~ had described.

She then considered the possibility that maybe she was diving headfirst into a trap. She found that she cared less about that than she probably should. If this was a trap, then so be it. It would probably still be better than the life she left behind.

When she got to the big purple door, Arin knocked on the door.

“Hello? It’s me, Arin.”

“Come in!” came the voice of an older man. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped inside.

Arin thought it would be a relief to walk into a warm, sheltered space after spending way too much time in the cold, but as soon as she entered, she felt tempted to run back out again. She found herself in a small room with purple walls, which worsened her nausea. Had there been food in her stomach, she might have thrown up.

She tried to distract herself from the overwhelming purple by focusing on other things in the room. There was a desk that said “RECEPTION” and behind that desk, sat a man of about 40, and a young woman that did not even look 20 yet. The girl was sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.

They were staring at her with what seemed to be wonder, and also pity.

“You’re the girl with the deadly curse?” the man asked.

Arin nodded.

“Oh, sweetie!” the girl said, getting up from the man’s lap. The man then slapped the girl’s , which made her visibly uncomfortable. “Ignore him, he’s not a creep. He’s actually my husband who likes to claim me when new people come.”

“She’s mine,” the man said, hugging the girl from behind and kissing her neck.

Arin began to feel even more sick.

The girl was uncomfortable, clearly, but he wouldn’t stop and began to various parts of her body. She had to yell at him until he finally stopped.

“Don’t yell at me!” he yelled back at her.

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “But she gets it: I’m yours.”

He grabbed her arm and squeezed it. “Don’t ever yell at me again in front of others, you hear?”

“Of course. Sorry, baby. I love you.”

“Sit back down, baby,” the man cooed. “I’ll handle this.”

Arin felt extremely uncomfortable in that moment, especially as he came closer to her. Arin wanted to run out again and momentarily considered living in the streets. Nothing was worth dealing with a man like that…

“I’m going to perform a little spell on you,” the man said. “Turn you mute, but just when you’re in this building. It’s like a temporary curse. This means your permanent curse that kills people will never work, as long as you’re within these walls. Got it?”

This man was not one to wait for consent. Before Arin even had the chance to say anything, he was already saying the words to the spell.

“I’ll make your speaking voice disappear,
While you’re in this building, as long as you’re here…”
 

Arin felt the words infuse into her skin from his lips, like they were taking form and refuge in her body. She felt a brief knot and unpleasant in , which subsided after a few seconds

The man asked her to speak.

She tried to open to say something, but nothing came. She could not speak. Her voice had disappeared.

“It worked!” the man cheered, laughing maniacally and looking toward his wife. The girl was jumping up and down happily, congratulating her husband for doing a good job.

Arin tried to speak again and again, but it was like there was a barrier in stopping any sound from rising out of . It was very uncomfortable, but at the same time, Arin realized that this meant she was safe from her curse. She couldn’t say anyone’s name, so she was safe.

“Alright, you’re ready! Go on in and meet everyone!” the girl said with a welcoming smile on her face. “Just be careful about the spirits! They’re a bit aggressive sometimes.”

Arin wanted to ask her what she meant by “spirits,” but quickly remembered that she couldn’t speak.

She just made her way to the other door on the other end of the reception area.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she would find behind it.

A/N: I finished the outline of this whole story!!! I’m really proud of it to be honest and I’m honestly so excited to write everything. And now that I have everything mapped out, I’ll be able write this story without getting stuck on the narrative, which will make things so much easier for me!

Anyways it should be smooth sailing from now on, and I’m going to try my best to actually commit to weekly updates. I’m sorry that the past updates were so spaced out, but I’m getting my together with this story I promise you. Thank you for your patience and your love <3 See you next week!