Arin managed to get Larali out of the room. She closed the door after her, and slowly, all of that anguish came crashing down on her own chest, and she wanted nothing more than to die in that moment.

Jeonghan nostrils were flaring as he glared at her with pure malice and contempt. He did not say anything to her, but the venom of his expression was enough to make her hate herself.

She wanted to apologize to Jeonghan for taking away his love, but her tongue was tied and now throbbed with more than just the curse.

Jeonghan stood up and stormed out of the room. She heard mages outside try and stop him, but he didn’t listen.

-

Waking up the following morning did nothing to heal her. Even if she no longer loved him, the heart-wrenching guilt of killing Hyojung filled every part of her. She felt selfish for not having realized it earlier, and for believing him when she thought she was the one he loved.

She looked into the mirror that morning and stared at her reflection. It all felt so pointless. She wanted it to end.

She called her name out, staring at herself in the mirror. She hoped it would work, but she knew it wouldn’t. She hated herself after all.

-

When Arin went through the MRS reception that day, she found Hoshi standing outside waiting for her.

“Hey there,” he greeted with a kind smile.

She forced a smile back.

“I heard everything that happened yesterday. I can’t imagine how it would have felt for you to hear all of that…”

Just thinking about it made Arin want to cry again.

“Maybe today will make you feel better...” he said, holding out his hand for her to take.

She narrowed her eyes, unsure what he meant and what could possibly make her feel better. She didn’t have the voice to ask him though, so she just gave him her gloved hand, and he silently led her through MRS headquarters.

It was different today. Everyone smiled when they looked at her. Some people even applauded and cheered.

They weren’t going to the Extraction Room. He was leading her in a completely different direction, toward the Procreation Unit. There was a crowd huddled around one particular room. At first, Arin thought it was about celebrating a magical baby, but when Hoshi pushed through the crowd into the room, she saw that it was Sangbin who had occupied that room.

He was sitting up on the bed. There was a table in front of him with a bowl of ramen on top of it.

He was eating.

Tears were streaming down his bony face as he savored each and every bite. It had been so long since he was able to eat, since he was able to swallow food without the food repulsively rising out of his mouth due to his curse.

“We did it, Arin,” Hoshi explained. “We got enough magic yesterday, and Yoonsa managed to cast a spell that reversed his curse...”

Arin felt her lower lip quiver as she watched and relief washed over her. An enormous strain was lifted off her chest in that instant. At least it wasn’t all for nothing; all that pain and emotional turmoil amounted to something good after all.

Yoonsa was kneeling beside Sangbin, holding his hand, burying her face in the side of the bed. Her shoulders were moving up and down, like she was sobbing. She then lifted her head and looked at Arin.

She looked heavily depleted. She had tired, empty eyes, and her tight, youthful skin had lost its sheen. She stood up, sniffled, and bowed 90 degrees toward Arin.

“Thank you, Arin. Thank you for helping me save his life…” Yoonsa said.

Hoshi joined her in bowing. Dasinai followed suit, and soon, the 20 or so people around her did too.

“Thank you, Arin,” Sangbin said through his tears. He bowed his head as far he could. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

Dasinai rose from her bow and pulled Arin in to hug her. “My dear Arin, you’re a treasure, and you don’t get enough credit for everything you’ve done for this organization. We are forever indebted to you, and we will never forget the sacrifices you made and what you had to go through to protect us. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re anything less than an angel, okay?”

At this point, Arin was crying in Dasinai’s chest. They were tears of relief and happiness and also pain, all meshed into this one burst of emotion that Arin could not have controlled.

It did not stop there. At one point, Yoonsa closed her eyes, and began to chant something. “From all the demons that tear her apart, I bless this child. I heal her heart.” She placed her hand on Arin’s chest and Arin felt a surge of positive energy course through her.

It was a spell. A blessing as opposed to a curse, and it made her feel alive.

After it was done, Yoonsa appeared dizzy and needed to steady herself against the wall. She was breathing heavily, obviously exhausted. When she looked up, Arin could see wrinkles forming on her once smooth, young skin.

“It won’t make up for anything,” Yoonsa said between heavy breaths. “But I give you what I have left of the magic we extracted. I hope it provides some comfort.”

It did provide comfort, comfort Arin didn’t think was possible. She felt free and happy. She felt like her life had a purpose again. It was magical.

Arin didn’t think it was possible to recover from the blow that Jeonghan had dealt the previous day, but she came out of that room feeling like the world was okay again, and that she was strong enough to get through it.

Apart from being happy, she found it in her heart to forgive someone who had wronged her in the worst possible way. And that forgiveness was more freeing than any blessing.

-

She texted Jeonghan that day, genuinely concerned for his well-being.

Hey, she wrote. How are you?

The message was read, but he didn’t respond. That was good enough for Arin. At least he was alive.

-

Woozi came to visit her that night.

“You look different today,” he noticed.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You look… I don’t know… relaxed.”

“I forgave the witch who cursed me today.”

Woozi frowned. “How?”

She shrugged. “I’m glad I forgave her. It feels kind of liberating. When I held a grudge, I instinctively made myself believe that the world was against me. But forgiving her made me accept my fate. Like everything is exactly how it’s supposed to be, and I’m just moving along with it.”

Woozi stared at her with a kind of wonder and intrigue. He smiled briefly. “I could learn from you,” Woozi hummed. “There are people in my life who I haven’t spoken to in years, and they did a lot less damage to me than what that witch did to you…”

“Like who?” Arin asked.

Woozi paused. He looked hesitant to talk about it, but relented in the end. “My mother abandoned me and left me with an abusive father when I was young. Never forgave her for that.”

As Arin heard this, she realized how little she knew about Woozi and his family and his background. She had known for months at this point, and they had become close enough friends for sure, and she was curious, so she asked him.

“How was your father abusive?”

“He beat me and my mother constantly. He wasn’t a very good man. My mom couldn’t handle it, and just left. I was only six.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What about your family?”

“I was the product of a one-night stand,” Arin revealed. “I don’t know my real father. My mother died three years ago.”

“Right,” Woozi said. “Your mother, your idol, and your… boyfriend? On the same day.”

Arin felt a knot in her chest when she heard that. “How did you know?”

“I read the reports online. The case of the missing girl from the concert, suspected dead. People were looking for you and posting about you a lot.”

“You know a lot about me,” she said with her head down. She began to fiddle with her fingers.

“Does that make you uncomfortable?” he asked.

“A little,” Arin answered.

“That’s the last thing I wanted to do. I just brought it up because I wanted to tell you that you can talk to me about these things. About anything.”

“What else do you know?” Arin asked. “Have you hacked me or spied on me?”

“Arin, I only spy on people who I think are bad,” he responded. “And I don’t think you’re bad at all.”

Arin was still unsettled, and she didn’t know why. She was squeezing her fingers through the gloves he had bought for her.

He looked down at her hands, noticing that she was anxious.

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable,” he said. “I’m a curious person, and my curiosity may go too far sometimes.”

“I’m curious too,” Arin said. “About you.”

“What do you want to know?” he replied. “I’ll tell you.”

“Everything.”

Woozi nodded. “Okay. Here’s the gist of my life story. I grew up in a middle class family as an only child, but my household wasn’t great. My father hit me and my mother all the time and I was always scared of him. When my mother left, I had to stay with my father. He worked at an Internet Cafe back when Internet Cafes were still a thing. When I was just 14 or 15, my dad made me work there, and that was how I was introduced to computers and my first step on the journey to becoming a cryptographer.

“I was really interested in the work, so I studied it and worked hard. Eventually, I became really good at it getting clients of my own. I managed to run away from my dad and rent my own place. I’ve been doing this freelance cryptography work ever since. My work ranges from programming, to fixing software issues, to IT service, to private investigation.”

“What does that mean?” Arin asked.

“Private Investigation? It’s like what I did for Kim Mihyun’s boyfriend, the one who killed her…” Woozi replied with regret in his eyes.

Arin had almost forgotten about the case of the missing murderer and . From the look on Woozi’s face as he spoke about, she could tell that it was weighing on him.

“Are you any closer to finding him?”

Woozi shook his head. “No. The trail has run cold again.”

“Another trail will turn up soon,” she said, trying to be encouraging.

“I hope so. I really do.”

“You know…” she began. “You said I could talk to you about anything, even the traumatic things. The same applies to you. I’d like to be a person of comfort to you too, and help you confront your own demons, like you helped me confront mine.”

Woozi nodded and smiled. “I’d like that.”

It was a good night. For the first time, Arin felt content, comfortable, no longer lonely. She had a friend who seemed to enjoy her company, at least she felt like he did. Why else would he stay with her until midnight?

Arin slept easy that night. When she woke up the following morning, she still felt like everything was okay.

On the commute to MRS, Arin marvelled at how simple it was to feel like this. Happiness had always felt like an unattainable goal to her. All it took was just a shift in perspective, instigated by that blessing, but still coming from deep within her. She wished she could help Jeonghan achieve the same kind of inner peace. She wanted him to be happy too.

When she got to MRS and heard the news, the happiness shriveled away, and her heart began to ache again.

Larali had tried to kill herself.

A/N: So I’ve written a few chapters ahead of this one, and I just want to say that I surprised even myself by what’s gonna happen soon. It was NOT part of my plan, but somehow the story made sense to go in that unexpected direction. Looking forward to seeing your reactions hehe