Chapter 45
Before Her Very EyesSomething about the expression on Woozi’s face told Arin he knew exactly what happened there.
Arin glanced up at the wall in the elevator. There it was: the security camera, pointed directly at her. She felt so uncomfortable at the thought of Woozi peering into that private moment.
“I noticed that the elevator was stuck, so I went into the system to reset it,” Woozi said to both Jeonghan and Arin, as if to explain himself.
Jeonghan didn’t even gratify Woozi with a greeting. He just exited the elevator and went into Woozi’s bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
“Did you… umm… get in a fight or something?” Woozi asked.
“No,” she responded.
Arin still felt funny from the unexpected confession and sudden intimacy with Jeonghan. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her thoughts were a mess. Jeonghan’s words rang in her ears and confused and perplexed her.
“I did see what happened, you know,” Woozi said. “I think I have a better idea about the kind of relationship you two have…”
“It’s not…” Arin didn’t know why she felt the need to defend herself to this person. He was the one who was peeping into something that did not concern him.
“It’s none of my business,” Woozi said. “But…” he paused for a moment, frustration visible in his gritted teeth. “I’m very confused, Arin. He’s abusive, and a terrible person all together. Why are you letting him touch you? Why are you... flustered by him?”
Arin felt embarrassed that the fluster in her expression was that obvious. She looked down at the floor and said: “There are things you don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand. Is it money? Is it because you need the job? Is he blackmailing you? If that’s the case, I can help you, Arin…”
Why was he being so nice to her? Why was he inserting himself into her life like that? On one hand, she was grateful for all the support he was offering, but on the other hand, she wished he would just leave her alone.
She could not shake the feeling that something was unusual about him and all the attention he was giving her. She peered at him with narrowed eyes and asked, straight out, “Why do you care so much?”
“Because I care about you!” he blurted. “I care about you more than I want to admit, okay? So please let me help you.”
Arin blinked. She wondered if he was still under the potion’s influence from the day before. It was supposed to have faded, but perhaps his body had retained it for longer than hers did. That was the only explanation to why he was suddenly professing that he cared about someone like her, like Arin, the frizzy-haired freak that she was.
Jeonghan came out of the bathroom at that point, looking between the two of them. “Quit fraternizing with the tenants, Missy!” he yelled.
“Stop treating her like that!” Woozi snapped at him. “She’s not your slave, and she has a name!”
“I can call her whatever the I want!” he responded. “And the way I deal with my help is my ing business.”
“Your ‘help’? You just kissed her!”
“How the did you know that? Did you tell him?” Jeonghan turned to her, furious.
“She didn’t tell me,” Woozi said. “I saw it in the security footage when I was fixing the elevator.”
“Security cameras? How? What the is wrong with you?!”
Before Jeonghan could fume at Woozi any longer, there was a knock on the door.
“Arin, Jeonghan, I know you’re in there,” said Hyojung from behind the door.
Arin’s heart stopped. She dreaded this confrontation so much, and with everything that had happened in the past few minutes, she didn’t have time to mentally prepare herself for it. Everything was just happening too fast.
She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she did know that she did not want to open that door. When Woozi stepped forward to open it, she held his arm and shook her head.
“Get away, !” Jeonghan yelled. “Don’t come near us. Feeding us bull all these years!”
“What are you talking about? I never told you anything but the truth!” Hyojung claimed.
“You were collecting our magic, trapping us in here...” Arin accused.
“No, Ar. I never trapped you. Whenever you wanted to go, I let you go, both of you. You were the ones that always returned, because you knew you were safe in here. Do you think I would ever hurt you? Either of you?”
“If you aren’t trapping us, then let us go. Lift the enchantment,” Jeonghan yelled. “I want to go!”
“I’m sorry, but if I do that, they’ll manipulate both of you and take your magic for their own agenda. I need to do all I can to prevent that.”
“What agenda? They’re trying to uncurse people,” Arin replied.
“Is that what they told you? Arin, come on, don’t be daft! Do you think they would do all of that work for others? They kidnapped someone I care about. They have the person who cursed you in their ranks. They’re extracting magic from your suffering, from the suffering of other cursed people. They tell you they want to uncurse you to get you guys to cooperate, but the truth is they just want power and magical credit to achieve their own selfish ends: eternal youth, wealth, powerful positions in government. You think your witch is saving up the magic she got from your sessions? No, she’s using it to keep up her youthful appearance!”
Arin didn’t know what to make of that. She hated being in the middle of such a confusing conflict. It made her anxious, so anxious she was tempted to remove the bandages from her fingers and dig into them again.
“We can talk about this later,” Hyojung said with urgency. “For now, I need you to get away from Jeonghan and whoever else is there with you in that room. I sense magic, Ar. Dark magic. There’s someone in there that you almost love, right? You know your love can kill…”
Hyojung was right. There was magic; Arin could feel it too. She knew that her feelings for both Jeonghan and Woozi were progressing at this point, and she knew that being there was jeopardizing them both. Even if it surely didn’t work for Jeonghan yet, the feeling of his lips on hers was lingering on her heart, and her cheeks were still flushed pink.
“Love?” Jeonghan reacted, peering at her. “For him?” he pointed at Woozi quizzically.
Woozi stood there, blank and confused. He had probably heard a lot of things he should not have, and was too lost to react.
“If I wanted you for your magic, Ar, I would not be encouraging you to get out of there,” Hyojung said. “I don’t want your curse to even come close to activation, no matter how much magic it produces for me, because I know it makes you suffer. MRS, on the other hand, don’t care about your suffering. They would hurt you for your magic, but I would never hurt anyone.”
Arin needed to understand this. Everyone was making her believe different things, and she just needed certainty about who to believe, who to trust. “They told me that you’re trying to collect the magic so you can seal the portal and kill the mages,” Arin said. “Is that true?”
“Yes, they’re right about that,” she admitted. “I want to put an end to it, Ar. Killing all mages is a sacrifice I’m willing to make for a better, magic-free world without exploitation. Without cursed people like you and Jeonghan. By removing the mages, I am also removing their power to make people miserable, to make them hate their lives so much they would try to end it multiple times. Is that such a bad thing?”
“That’s… that’s…” Arin trailed off. She didn’t know what to say or how to argue with that. Although Arin understood Hyojung’s stance and motivation, it still felt wrong. Even if cursed people usually face ruinous mental health issues, and it was near unbearable to live with these curses, the death of the mages was the wrong way to prevent that.
“We can talk later, Ar. For now, I need you to get away from the guys. I’ll go to the roof, so I won’t be in front of you when you leave. Just get out of there, okay?”
“Okay,” Arin answered.
They heard Hyojung’s footsteps receding up the stairs. When the footsteps faded, Arin went for the door, eager to get as much distance between her and the two guys as possible.
Jeonghan grabbed her arm before she could. “Oh, no you don’t! You’re staying with me!”
“What are you doing?”
“If there’s a chance that the love Hyojung was talking about is directed at me, I want to stay with you until my name works.”
“Let me go,” Arin tried to wry her arms away from him, but he held it tighter.
“Hey!” Woozi stepped in. “What is wrong with you? Let her go!”
Jeonghan eyed Woozi, then laughed. “Of all the things you heard just now, this is what you react to?” The laugh faded and Jeonghan’s expression changed from amusement into something else, something dark and desolate.
He let go of Arin’s arm.
“I guess that magic is not mine after all,” Jeonghan mumbled. He glanced at Woozi once, then at Arin.
In Jeonghan’s eyes, Arin could see the depth of his suffering, and the extent of his desperation to die.
“I’ll go find another way,” Jeonghan said, heading for the door.
It was Arin’s turn to stop him. “Wait, no!” She rushed to block him. “Why can’t you just hold on to hope for a little bit longer?”
“What hope, Arin?!” he yelled. “There’s no hope! You heard her. That cult isn’t going to help us. We’re all alone. Just accept it!”
Arin’s heart was breaking as her own hopes were crumbling away as well. He was right. MRS might just be some power-hungry loonatics after all. Maybe she and Jeonghan were alone.
Jeonghan took a few more strides toward the door she was blocking. “Get out of my way!” he said.
She shook her head and stood her ground. “I’m not going to let you.”
He rolled his eyes and went for the door handle, aiming to force the door open and push her out of the way. Before he could, Arin lunged forward, wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.
He stopped, stood still, and let Arin hold him for a few seconds. Before long, much to Arin’s surprise, his own arms tightened around her too. He was hugging her back.
The magic grew stronger by the second.
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