The lonely, secluded house, surrounded by a pitch black wrought iron fence. Typical. Of course it had to be that house that Yubin chose. Yoohyeon stared out at it, worrying away at her bottom lip.

“Have you changed your mind yet?” Yubin said in the most pretentious voice possible. Yoohyeon turned her head to look at her closest friend, feeling annoyance spike as she caught sight of the smirk on the younger girl’s face.

“If that’s what you’re waiting for, don’t hold your breath. You know I never back out of a bet once I’ve accepted,” Yoohyeon bit back, sharper than intended. Yubin leaned back in the driver’s seat, that smug smile still present.

“Never say never, princess. Let’s see if you can keep that confidence once you actually step out of the car.”

“You’re awfully smug for someone who is about to eat her words.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Now, are you gonna do this thing or are we gonna sit here until dawn?” Yoohyeon glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Just past 2 AM. She had time, but not much of it. It was now or never, and never wasn’t even an option. So without another word, Yoohyeon opened the passenger door and exited the car, her designer heels making soft clicks against the asphalt. She managed to catch the snarky “Best of luck, princess” from Yubin before the door slammed loudly. And then she was alone in the eerie silence, staring up at her daunting goal and trying to suppress the sudden urge to shiver.

It’s just a house, Yooh. It’ll be easy, in and out, she thought to herself as she started walking forward, wincing at the way the sound of her heels pierced the silence.

“ Yubin and her stupid bet,” Yoohyeon muttered under her breath as she walked around the perimeter of the fence, her eyes scanning the metal barrier. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for, but she knew there was no way in hell she’d get in through the front gates. They were towering and seemed to be the electronic type that required access from the inside to open. So that was definitely out of the question. She walked for several moments and felt worry begin to set in when she didn’t find anything. She was about to full-on panic, thinking she certainly wasn’t dressed to try and climb the fence, when she stumbled upon a nick in the fence, an imperfection in the otherwise impenetrable structure. One of the bars had been bent out of place, leaving a gap wide enough for Yoohyeon’s slim figure to slip through.

How convenient, she thought as she cautiously fit herself between the bars. She silently cursed her heels and how unsteady they were in the grassy lawn of the house, but she managed to get through the fence and straighten out without falling on her face. Once within the fence’s perimeter, she shot Yubin a text.

Yooh (2:15 AM): I got inside the fence. Headed to the house

Dami (2:15 AM): Remember you have to get in and out

Dami (2:16 AM): Tick tock, princess

“Tick tock my ,” Yoohyeon spat with a roll of her eyes. She shot a glare towards the front gates, making sure she could see Yubin’s car idling there still. She refused to admit it, but she was relieved to see that the younger girl hadn’t ditched her. As Yoohyeon started her trek to the house, she couldn’t help thinking what a ridiculous situation she had gotten herself into.

Sure, she and Yubin had carried out a lot of bets, and all of them reckless, dangerous, stupid, or all of the above. But this one? Seriously, why had she accepted? She couldn’t even use the drunk excuse because they were both completely sober. And yet, she had agreed to this stupid bet to “prove her courage”. As if it wasn’t enough that she had scuba dived despite her fear of the ocean and attempted parkour despite her intense distaste for extreme sports for fear of injury, and she’d done it all as part of their bets. Yoohyeon had even been arrested a couple of times because of the crazy things her partner in crime had put her up to, and if it weren’t for her money she likely would have ended up in prison for a while.

But that was just the way Yoohyeon and Yubin’s relationship worked. They always had something to prove to each other. Who was braver, more reckless, more daring. It was a never ending game of truth or dare where the only option they had was dare. And Yoohyeon never turned down a challenge, never gave Yubin that satisfaction. Which is exactly why she currently found herself walking up to the back door of this creepy house, removing her heels and setting them aside as she made her way up the creaky wooden steps of the back porch. Her steps were much quieter now as she padded over to the back door in her fishnet tights-clad feet.

Yoohyeon was unsurprised to find that the door was locked but, unlike with the fence, this obstacle didn’t faze her at all. This was something she was used to, something she knew she could handle. Although she had unfortunately left her lock picking kit at home, she had the next best thing on hand—bobby pins. Yoohyeon removed a pair of the small metal objects from her hair, her bangs falling across her forehead as she got to work twisting and bending the bobby pins into the shape she needed. She was so accustomed to doing this that it only took a matter of minutes before there was the soft click of the door unlocking. And then she was in. She tried not to feel too proud of herself as she stepped into the house, snapping a dimly lit selfie to send to Yubin as proof.

Yooh (2:32 AM): [picture attached] I’m in

Dami (2:33 AM): Whatever. Just hurry up. I’m bored

Yoohyeon didn’t even bother to answer, instead rolling her eyes once more. Of course the moment Yoohyeon was being successful, Yubin grew bored. Typical.

Shaking off all her annoyed thoughts, Yoohyeon moved further into the house and began looking for an adequate trophy to claim. It was dark and moonlight hardly made it through the curtained windows, making Yoohyeon’s task much more difficult. She didn’t dare use her phone’s flashlight for fear of alerting anyone in the house of her presence, if there even was anyone there in the first place. She carefully skirted around furniture, ignoring things like picture frames and other decorative pieces, as she strained her eyes in the darkness. As she walked, a dull glow caught her eye and her breathing stopped momentarily, her heart rate spiking in fear of getting caught before she realized that the light was emitting from a bookshelf to her right.

Intrigued, she crept forward slowly towards the source of light. There was an unexpected tremble in Yoohyen’s hand as she lifted it and felt around blindly until her hand curled around the right leather-bound book. She gently tugged the book out of its place and the light brightened slightly, almost seeming to pulse with life. When she turned it over, Yoohyeon caught sight of the strange symbols on the cover of the book that surrounded a pentagram, all of which were glowing a whitish blue. Yoohyeon’s eyebrows furrowed as she examined the strange book more closely, noticing a thick cloth bookmark with a tassel on the end sticking out slightly. It was also covered in the same odd glowing symbols.

“What the ,” Yoohyeon breathed out. All of a sudden, the book was torn out of her hands with surprising force and she was thrown back against the bookshelf as candles blazed to life around the room, casting everything in an eerie light. Yoohyeon felt her arms lock against her sides, her back straighten against the bookshelf. She tried to move but found that she couldn’t, her body held in an invisible vice that refused to release her. Just as panic was rising in her chest and threatening to choke her, a voice captured her attention.

“Who do you work for?” It was a low hum of a voice, a threatening growl. Yoohyeon’s head snapped up, her hair falling messily and partially obscuring her vision. She could see a distinctly feminine form wreathed in the flickering candle light, an outstretched hand grasping the odd book as it shone and pulsed even brighter than before. But making out features was difficult with the person cloaked in shadow. Yoohyeon was still fighting her invisible restraints and squinting to try and catch a clearer glimpse of the stranger when she spoke again. “I asked you a question. Who do you work for?”

“What the are you talking about? I don't work for anybody and I don't plan to. People work for me, not the other way around,” Yoohyeon spat in annoyance.

“Who are you then, and what do you want with my spellbook?” the voice demanded.

“Spellbook? Are you insane or something? What the hell do you need a spellbook for? To cast imaginary spells?”

“For someone who broke into my home, you seem to know very little about who you're dealing with.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that's because I don't give a who you are. I couldn't care less about your existence or your stupid book, I was just trying to prove a point and taking something from you happened to be the most convenient method of doing so.” Yoohyeon's breath suddenly caught as two orbs of brilliant purple flickered to life from the spot where the person's face should be. The stranger stepped forward menacingly, light falling at last across her face. Under other circumstances, Yoohyeon would've ogled at the woman's beauty. But at the moment, she couldn't tear her gaze away from the purple flames flickering in the woman's eyes.

“You're a human. I should have guessed by your foolish decision to try and steal from me while I was still home.” The woman paused, her eyes roaming Yoohyeon's designer clothing with a look of distaste. “Of course, you're one of those entitled, pretentious brats who thinks you own the world and can do as you please.”

“Considering I could probably buy everything you own and still have money to spare, I can do as I please and you certainly won't be the one to stop me.”

“You arrogant waste of space, I should disintegrate you where you stand!”

“What are you gonna do? Cast a spell? Ooh, I'm mortified,” Yoohyeon mocked with a roll of her eyes. A small part of her brain noticed the way the strange woman's eyes blazed and thought she probably shouldn't have said that, but the rest of her was too annoyed to bite her tongue. However, when the woman started chanting in a foreign language, Yoohyeon's hair stood on end. The woman was clearly angry now, and normally that wouldn't scare Yoohyeon, but then again people that got angry at her usually didn't conjure up balls of purple flames in the palms of their hands. Before Yoohyeon could even process what was happening, purple filled her vision.

She felt her body heat spike, sweat breaking out across her skin. Her body was tingling and there was an almost painful tightening of her chest. The air seemed to be thinning, making it increasingly harder to breathe. It felt to Yoohyeon as if this were the end, and just as she was about to give in to this thought, everything stopped. She tumbled to the floor barely managing to catch herself on shaky arms to prevent faceplanting. Air rushed into her lungs and she took in large gulps of oxygen at a time, trying to stop her vision from swimming. When her eyes finally focused, she became aware of a pair of shoes directly in front of her. She forced her eyes to follow the path up the body until she was met with angry purple eyes.

“What did… you do… to me?” Yoohyeon managed to say between heavy pants. She was regaining strength, but just barely, and breathing was still a chore.

“I ruined your chances of finding love. If you're even capable of such an emotion,” the witch replied in a monotone voice. “Now leave my presence at once before I change my mind about being so merciful and roast you on the spot. And don't come back.”

“But you haven't explained what you ing did—”

“LEAVE!” At the sight of purple flames flaring up around the witch, Yoohyeon scrambled to her feet and bolted for the door, barely remembering to grab her heels from the back porch before sprinting across the lawn barefoot.

“Oh, you're back—” Yubin started saying as Yoohyeon clambered into the car a few moments later, only to be cut off by the older girl's panicked voice.

“Start the car, Yubin! Get us out of here! Now!” Yoohyeon ordered, struggling to put her seatbelt on with trembling hands. Seeing her friend's state, Yubin obliged without another word, waiting until they were far away and Yoohyeon visibly relaxed before she spoke again.

“What happened to you in there? You came out like you were being chased by the devil.” Yubin glanced at Yoohyeon from the corner of her eye. For a moment, Yoohyeon said nothing. Her hands fiddled in her lap and she refused to look at her friend.

“Yubin?” Yoohyeon finally said, her voice quiet. “I— this is going to sound so stupid but… do you… do you believe in magic?”

Naturally, Yubin responded by bursting into laughter. Yoohyeon felt her face heat up, but she stayed silent while Yubin got the laughter out of her system.

“What the are you on about now?” the younger girl asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“This isn’t funny!” Yoohyeon huffed indignantly. “Something… weird happened in there. I thought I was going to die or something.”

“You’re so full of , Yoohyeon. Just say you failed.”

“I never fail.” Yoohyeon punctuated the sentence by holding her hand up, the cloth bookmark from before dangling from her fingers. Confused, Yubin was forced to pull over so she could inspect the object. The strange symbols on it still pulsed with light, although it was much fainter now. Yubin took the strip of cloth, turning it over in her hand.

“This is your trophy? A little weak, don’t you think?” Ignoring Yubin’s mocking tone, Yoohyeon carefully took the bookmark back, running her thumb over one of the symbols thoughtfully.

“It doesn’t seem like much, right? But it was inside a book with glowing symbols, like these, and the lady that lives there was really pissed that I was touching it. She called it her spellbook.”

“You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?”

“I know, believe me. But, Yubin… I saw her conjure up purple flames. And she… she did something to me. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move. I felt like I was going to die.” There was a long pause where neither of them said anything. Finally, Yubin cleared .

“Maybe, uh… maybe we should just get home and rest. We can try to make sense of it tomorrow.” For once, there was no trace of teasing in Yubin’s voice. She almost sounded concerned. And, just this once, Yoohyeon didn’t joke around or argue, simply letting Yubin take her home in silence.

***

“You’re late,” Minji said coolly as Gahyeon stumbled into the house, short of breath. The older girl looked over Gahyeon’s disheveled state from where she was seated in her armchair.

“You’re lucky I even came,” Gahyeon mumbled after she finally caught her breath. “What could you possibly need from me this early in the morning?”

“First of all, did you break my fence?” Gahyeon opened to make a snarky reply, but immediately closed upon hearing Minji’s question. She offered Minji a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Heh. See, about that…”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“It was an accident.” Minji raised her eyebrows at the younger girl and she rushed to elaborate. “I was practicing that spell you taught me the other day and it sort of veered off course and dented your fence. I was going to tell you, but it slipped my mind.”

“So what I’m hearing is that you have bad aim and bad memory.”

“Hey,” Gahyeon whined, pouting childishly. Minji waved her hand dismissively.

“It doesn’t really matter, I just had to be sure.”

“Is that what you had me come over for? You literally could’ve asked while we were on the phone.” Minji rolled her eyes.

“I wouldn’t waste both our time for such a thing. I called you here because I need your help strengthening the wards around my house.”

“Did something happen?” Gahyeon looked around, as if she expected to see some kind of physical indication of a threat that would warrant the need for heightened security.

“Yes, actually. A mortal broke in last night.” Minji said it calmly, but Gahyeon could see the purple flames flickering in her irises.

“We need to protect your house… against a human?” Gahyeon asked slowly. “I don’t get it, it’s not like a human could be a threat, certainly not to you.”

“She was here to take something. I caught her with my spellbook in hand.” Gahyeon’s head whipped around to look at the spot on the bookshelf where the faint glow of the spellbook could be seen, then she turned back to gape at Minji.

“A mortal, a regular human, came for your spellbook?” Minji leaned back in the armchair thoughtfully.

“Well, no. Not exactly.” Gahyeon raised an eyebrow and Minji sighed. “You know I can’t comprehend the workings of the human mind. And she was the infuriating type, one of those with too much money and therefore too much arrogance.” Again, Gahyeon caught the purple flames that flared up in Minji’s eyes, but the older girl was quick to calm herself. “Anyway, she never said that she came for the book specifically, and she claimed not to be working for anyone—rather rudely I might add. But still, I can’t take any chances.”

“Do you know who she is? It would be good to keep an eye on her in case she was lying.”

“Look at you, thinking ahead.” Minji smiled at Gahyeon but it didn’t last long. Her lips turned down, her eyebrows furrowing. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get much information on her. I suppose that’s my fault for letting my temper get the best of me. All I know is that she’s some rich kid, she made that very clear. Hmm… She was about my height, young, most likely in her early twenties, with faded gray-blond hair. But that’s hardly enough information to find her with. I don’t even have anything of hers that I could use to trace her.”

“Something about your description of her rings a bell. Hold on.” Gahyeon pulled out her phone and began scrolling through it. After a moment, her eyes lit up. She held the phone out for Minji to see. “Was this her?”

“Yes! That’s her,” Minji exclaimed. She gave Gahyeon a surprised look. “How did you find her?”

“There aren’t that many reckless rich kids around here that fit that description.” Gahyeon shrugged. “Plus, I follow her on Twitter. Her name is Kim Yoohyeon. She’s some rich businessman’s daughter. She’s practically royalty within the corporation her father owns.”

“Huh. And here I thought I was done with cursing ill-mannered princesses centuries ago.” With a wave of her hand, Minji summoned her spellbook from its place on the bookshelf and began flipping through its pages at a leisurely pace, completely ignoring the open-mouthed look Gahyeon was giving her.

“Excuse me, you did what to the princess?” the younger witch demanded, her voice jumping an octave. Minji didn’t even look up from her book.

“Cursed her.” She shrugged. “She deserved it.”

“Minji!”

“Relax, it was nothing serious. Well, it won’t kill her anyway.” Gahyeon let out an exasperated huff.

“You can’t go around cursing people in the twenty-first century!”

“Little late for that. Oh look!” Minji pointed at a page in the spellbook. “A physical barrier spell. ‘When paired with enchanted asper wood ash, this spell creates a physical barrier around the area enclosed by the ash.’ This might be exactly what I need.”

“Minji,” Gahyeon said to the older witch. Her tone was somewhere between concerned and annoyed, and it was enough to finally make Minji look up. “What did you do to her?”

“It’s simple really. I highly doubt she plans to love anyone ever, it’s much too complex an emotion for someone like her. I just made it so that no man will love her either, I’ll save them the trouble.” There was a pause where Gahyeon merely blinked at Minji. And then she burst into laughter, doubling over from the intensity of it. Minji raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny? I thought you were concerned about the silly human girl.”

“Minji… oh my god,” Gahyeon gasped as she struggled to control her laughter. She straightened as much as she could manage, wiping at the corners of her eyes. “You really need to get out more.”

“What do you mean?” Minji asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“I get you’re like ancient or whatever but don’t you realize not every princess wants a prince in this day and age?”

“Is this about that uality thing you were explaining to me the other day? What does that have to do with this girl?”

“Minji, Yoohyeon isn’t straight. She’s gay, like me.”At Minji’s blank stare, Gahyeon rolled her eyes. “For ’s sake, she likes women. Not men. Just women. She’s a lesbian.” Understanding finally came over Minji’s expression and her lips parted as realization hit her. Gahyeon nodded, knowing exactly what Minji was thinking. “Do you get it now? Your curse is kinda pointless. If anything, it probably helped her.”

“Well, that would’ve been great to know last night. Now I gotta go find her and change the curse and— ugh, that’s so much work!” Minji slumped in her chair dramatically. Gahyeon walked over to her, shaking her head.

“See, this is what you get for losing your temper and casting curses willy-nilly.” Without asking, Gahyeon snatched the spellbook from Minji’s lap and started flipping through it. The older witch didn’t object, simply watching her apprentice with a pout instead. “Didn’t you have a curse removal spell that you looked up because you were afraid I’d do basically what you just did and cast a stupid curse on someone in the heat of the moment?”

“Yeah, it’s bookmarked,” Minji mumbled, still pouting like a child. Gahyeon flipped through the book, front-to-back and back-to-front, and gave Minji a questioning look.

“Are you sure it was in this spellbook? There’s no bookmark here.” At that, Minji immediately sat up.

“What do you mean there’s no bookmark there?” The edge to Minji’s voice made it very clear to Gahyeon that she had the right book and that the absence of the bookmark was not good. The younger girl grabbed the book by the spine and shook it, hoping that she’d just missed it and that it would fall out. When nothing of the sort happened, Minji jumped up and snatched the book from Gahyeon’s hands, flipping through it several times herself.

“Why that little—” The air around Minji began to ripple and Gahyeon could feel the heat rolling off of her.

“Alright, maybe you should calm down,” Gahyeon said slowly, putting her hand on Minji’s arm. The older girl immediately shook it off, glaring at the young witch with embers in her eyes.

“I will be calm once I’ve retrieved my relic from that brat,” Minji spat.

“Is that really necessary? It’s just a bookmark.” Minji scoffed, her eyes still burning into Gahyeon.

“It isn’t just a bookmark. It has centuries of magical energy stored in it. That single strip of cloth has more power in it than you do. If that idiot of a girl so much as mutters a false incantation, she could unknowingly channel its energy and wreak havoc on herself and everyone around her.”

“She’s a human, how would she even cast a spell, not to mention by accident?” Gahyeon’s question was met with a sharp smack to the side of the head. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Have I taught you nothing? Words have power. Even if they do not have the rhythm and rhyme of a spell, or the ancient dialect of our incantations, words can still trigger the flow of magical energy. A made up spell from a movie, a poem, even a simple wish could be enough to tap into the bookmark’s well of energies. In the wrong hands, it’s extremely dangerous. And that self-absorbed is the definition of wrong hands.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I should be able to trace the bookmark’s location since it belongs to me. I will find her and get it back, and I’ll tweak my curse while I’m at it.”

“Wait, maybe you shouldn’t— oof!” Gahyeon was cut off by the spellbook being handed to her roughly, shoved against her chest. Minji’s fiery purple eyes bore into her.

“Find some aspen wood in the meantime. The enchantment for enhancing magical properties should be in there somewhere, or in one of the spellbooks in the library. Burn the wood and enchant the ash while I’m out.” It wasn’t a request but a demand. Gahyeon could do little more than nod, watch as Minji stormed out of the house, and hope that poor Kim Yoohyeon made it out of the endeavor in one piece.

***

“How’re you feeling, Yooh?” Yubin asked through the phone.

“Better,” the older girl answered. She was sprawled out on her bed, where she had spent the majority of her morning. “Sleeping helped. But I can’t stop thinking about what happened yesterday.”

“You need to get it out of your head or you’re gonna drive yourself crazy, and nobody needs that. You’re already crazy enough, thank you very much.” Yubin’s light teasing managed to get a small chuckle out of Yoohyeon, but for someone who usually would respond with snark, this response was almost concerning. “Hey, do you wanna go out later? I’m in the mood to play golf but I need a caddie.”

“You’ve got two arms and legs that aren’t broken, be your own damn caddie!” Yoohyeon snapped. She heard Yubin laugh on the other end.

“There’s the Yoohyeon I know and hate.” Yoohyeon scoffed at that, rolling her eyes even though her lips curled up slightly. “So is that a no?”

“Unfortunately, I have a special family dinner in the early evening,” Yoohyeon sighed.

“Do you want me to rescue you?”

“Thanks, but I don’t think I can get out of this one without being killed. Or worse, disowned.”

“Is today the day?” For a moment, Yoohyeon didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure how her voice would sound if she spoke. “Yooh?”

“She has a daughter, you know,” Yoohyeon said, purposely avoiding the actual question. “She’ll be at the dinner too.”

“Do you know anything about her?” Yubin’s voice was quiet, gentle. She didn’t repeat her original question, instead following Yoohyeon’s train of thought, and the older girl was extremely grateful for that.

“Her name is Han Dong. She’s a year older than us. That’s about it.”

“Do you know if she’s pretty?”

“No and it shouldn’t matter. You can’t show interest in her regardless. It’s a miracle your parents and my dad haven’t tried to get us together after all these years. If you start showing interest in my sister-to-be, they’ll be writing up a marriage certificate before you can say ‘oops.’ We’re not about to become in-laws, do you hear me, Lee Yubin?!”

“Alright, alright. Forget I asked,” Yubin chuckled. “I have to go now but I’ll text you, okay?”

“Sigh. I suppose I’ll miss you or whatever.”

“What an honor, princess.” Yoohyeon could hear the annoying smirk in Yubin’s voice. But then the mocking tone softened unexpectedly and Yoohyeon remembered why she and Yubin were so close. “I hope you feel better. And, regardless of what your father says about it, if you feel like you need to get out of that dinner, shoot me a text. I will get you out of there immediately.”

“Thank you, Yubin.” And then Yoohyeon was left in her lonesome quiet once more.

Hardly five minutes after hanging up, there was a knock on Yoohyeon’s door. She didn’t bother to answer, staring in silence at the ceiling. Even without invitation, the door swung open a moment later. Annoyance shot through Yoohyeon and she sat up, ready to snap at whoever it was who had so rudely decided to enter.

“How dare you— Oh. Gunhak.” Yoohyeon blinked in surprise at her brother. She hadn’t been aware that he was back from his business trip abroad, and he certainly never came to her room, not since they were kids. “What are you doing here?”

“Father asked me to fetch you. He’s waiting in his study.” No ‘hello.’ No ‘I missed you.’ No warmth in his voice. And yet, she could not refrain from smiling slightly at him.

“How was Thailand? When did you get back?” Yoohyeon found the questions leaving her lips before she could think to stop them. Her brother’s mouth turned down in a scowl.

“Don’t ask useless questions about things that don’t concern you,” was his reply. The careful, small smile that Yoohyeon had been giving him faltered.

“I just wanted to know if your meetings went well—” Yoohyeon started, only for Gunhak to quickly cut her off.

“Company matters are none of your business. Just focus on not tarnishing the family name. That is your job.”

“Of course. My apologies, brother,” Yoohyeon forced herself to say. Gunhak waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m leaving. Don’t keep father waiting.” He turned to leave but stopped at the sound of Yoohyeon’s voice, his hand on the doorknob.

“Gunhak, wait! Will you be at dinner tonight?” she asked.

“Leedo.”

“What?”

“My professional name is Kim Leedo.”

“I’m not one of your business partners, I’m your sister!” There was a tremble in Yoohyeon’s voice, and even she couldn’t tell if it was frustration or if she was on the verge of a breakdown. Probably both. Gunhak half turned back but did not fully face Yoohyeon, not bothering to look at her.

“You will address me as Leedo in front of CEO Han and her daughter tonight, and continue to do so from that moment forth.” It was clearly an order, not a request, and it was punctuated by the sharp sound of the door closing behind him as he left.

Yoohyeon could taste the tears now, feel them burning her eyes and searing the back of . But she clenched her fists and bit them back. She couldn’t cry yet, she wouldn’t. After all, she still had to speak to her father.

***

Useless. Troublesome. Burdensome.

The words her father had spat at her bounced around inside Yoohyeon’s skull as she trudged back to her room. A failure, that’s all she was to him. She apported no value to the company and therefore had no value herself. He had made that painfully clear.

“Be grateful I give you a roof to live under and enough money to keep you occupied with all your useless hobbies. Don’t make me consider it a mistake to keep you in the family tree.”

The warning had been evident in his voice. If she messed up this dinner, like she messed up everything else in her life, she might as well pack her bags and leave because she’d never be welcome again.

Yoohyeon felt an unbearable tightness in her chest and she was finding it hard to breathe. The suffocating feeling of rising tears closed up , but she refused to let a single tear drop until she was in the safety of her room, away from prying, judging eyes. Her hand shook as she lifted it to open her door, and she became aware of the slight tremors going through her body. She could feel the tension threatening to burst and rushed into her room, quickly shutting the door and letting out a huffed exhale as she rested her forehead on the wood.

“Kim Yoohyeon, we meet again.” Yoohyeon started, surprised, her heart leaping into . Her hand flew to wipe at the stray tear that had managed to escape as she spun around, back to her door. Her eyes went wide as she realized who it was who had spoken.

“You. How did you get in here?” Yoohyeon’s voice wavered and she hated herself for it. A realization hit her and she felt another jolt of fear go through her. “How do you know my name?”

“Did you think you would be hard to find?” Minji asked from where she was perched on the window seat. “I thought I made it clear what I’m capable of.” Purple flames sparked between Minji’s fingertips and flickered in her irises, causing Yoohyeon to flatten herself against the door.

“W-What do you want?” the girl stammered. Minji found herself smirking at the uneasy edge to Yoohyeon’s voice. The witch stood, her eyes not leaving the frightened girl.

“I’m here to reclaim what’s mine.” She held out her hand, one eyebrow arched as she relayed the silent message that she wanted Yoohyeon to hand her the bookmark.

“Is that all you want?” Tiredness washed over Yoohyeon, overpowering the fear that the witch had ignited. She had felt too many emotions today to deal with this on top of it all. As she moved over to her bed and laid down, Yoohyeon waved a hand at her nightstand. “Feel free to take it and go.”

“No, actually, that’s not all I want,” Minji responded slowly, her eyes following Yoohyeon’s sluggish movements. She was confused by the girl’s behavior. There was no rudeness, no biting comeback, no combative fire. She was nothing like the girl Minji had met the previous night. Hoping to get a reaction out of her, Minji continued her line of thought. “I came for my bookmark, but also to adjust my curse. It seems the one I cast is not as… effective as I’d like.”

“Okay. Are you going to tell me what this curse is before you change it?” Yoohyeon’s voice came out muffled since the side of her face was pressed against her pillow. Minji’s eyebrows furrowed but she nodded.

“I suppose you deserve that much at least. It was that no man would ever love you.” Yoohyeon snorted.

“That would require a man loving me in the first place.”

“I’m aware you’re attracted to women, no need to rub it in.”

“I didn’t mean— nevermind. Just please get on with what you’re going to do and leave. I need to be alone.” Minji stared questioningly at the girl, surprised by her resignation to her fate.

“You’re going to let me curse you? You’re not even going to fight me about it?”

“Would it make a difference? I can’t stop you anyway. I don’t have the energy to try.”

“How is it that you can become a completely different person in a matter of hours?”

“A lot can happen in a matter of hours.” She wished she could say she didn’t care, but Minji found that she was curious about what had gotten the girl to this state.

“What would be so drastic as to disrupt your feisty attitude?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t. I’m just wondering what it took to finally get you to shut up.” Yoohyeon chuckled, but it sounded weak, strained. Empty almost.

“You sound just like them.”

“Them?” Minji echoed, further intrigued.

“Yes, them. My brother. My father. Just about everyone really.” Yoohyeon sighed. “Nevermind, it’s none of your business anyway.”

“Excuse me, you cannot compare me to them and then offer no explanation as to why the comparison is being made.”

“I don’t owe you any explanations.”

“Don’t make me get the information out of you the hard way.” Again, purple sparks leaped between Minji’s fingertips, an obvious threat. Suddenly, Yoohyeon sat bolt-upright, her fists clenched at her sides.

“You see? You don’t really care what I think or how I feel, you just want me to do whatever you say and if I don’t then you threaten me. You’re willing to hurt me over something so ing stupid. You’re just like them.” Yoohyeon’s voice cracked on the last sentence and it came out a lot breathier than she intended, weaker. Her vision was blurry all of a sudden and it took her a moment to realize that the tears she had been holding back had finally overflowed.

“You’re crying,” Minji stated robotically, her head tilted in confusion as if crying was a new concept to her.

“Gee, thanks, I had no ing clue,” Yoohyeon retorted, her voice thick. She hadn’t noticed when Minji moved closer, but now the witch was right in front of her, holding a handkerchief out to her. Yoohyeon blinked at the cloth, then up at the woman holding it, then back. Minji shook it slightly, gesturing for Yoohyeon to take it. The girl did so hesitantly, using the cloth to dry her damp cheeks.

“I’m sorry for making you cry,” Minji whispered as she watched the girl wipe her tears. Yoohyeon froze, blinking several times before speaking.

“You… You’re what?” she asked in a small voice.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Minji repeated. It clearly wasn’t something that was easy for her to say, but she did so anyway, much to Yoohyeon’s surprise. “And I’m sorry for cursing you. I acted rashly in my anger, both last night and now. It was too drastic a response in proportion to what you did and I apologize.”

“W-Why? Why are you…?”

“I was too angry last night to notice, or perhaps it was just much harder to see, but I can see now how much pain you’re in. How angry and upset and confused you are. I see now that the obnoxious act from last night was exactly that—an act.”

“How can you tell all of that?”

“Your aura is a mess. The emotional energy you radiate is tumultuous. And I felt the barrier around yourself and your emotions when I cursed you, I just chose to ignore it.” Again, Minji tilted her head as her eyes roamed over Yoohyeon. “Your fighting spirit is genuine, though, isn’t it?”

“I’ve been fighting my whole life,” Yoohyeon agreed. “To be heard. To be seen. To be understood… To be remembered at least.”

“Maybe if you didn’t put up such a detestable facade of a personality, the right people would be able to get close to you,” Minji suggested, her lips turning down ever so slightly.

“Whatever, what do you know anyway?” Yoohyeon huffed childishly, crossing her arms.

“I’ve lived almost 350 years, Kim Yoohyeon. Once upon a time I was a girl just like you, a pawn in a man’s world, the weaker opponent in a game of power. Pushing people away gets lonesome, and I can imagine a mortal like you would come to regret it when it’s too late to rectify it. Heed my warning or not, but I know you understand the truth behind it.” The melancholy, almost nostalgic edge to Minji’s voice made Yoohyeon actually take her seriously for once. Admittedly, a part of Yoohyeon wanted to hear the story, the struggle and triumph of a girl at odds with fate, even if it had been through magical means.

“Is there a happy ending?” Yoohyeon blurted after a beat of silence. Minji’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“What?” she asked.

“Is there a happy ending?” Yoohyeon reiterated. “Once upon a time, there was a girl just like me. Did she reach her happily ever after?”

For a moment, Minji had no reply. She never expected such a statement to leave Yoohyeon’s lips and it caught her off guard. And it wasn’t exactly a simple question to answer either. She genuinely had to take a moment to think.

“I don’t think she’s reached the end of her story,” Minji finally answered, slowly speaking the words. “She has a long way to go, I think. But she wants to share her wisdom to save you the trouble. Maybe you’ll reach your happily ever after in half the time that way.”

“I don’t think I have anywhere near half the amount of time she has,” Yoohyeon chuckled. It was a slightly sad joke, but somehow she found herself smiling slightly. Minji looked at her in that peculiar way that she did, head tilted and eyes piercing.

“You’re a lot prettier when you actually smile, you know.” Minji wasn’t sure when the thought had formed or how she’d allowed it to be converted to words, but she couldn’t take it back now. And, anyway, she had to admit that it was true. Now it was Yoohyeon’s turn to be caught off guard.

“I… You… Huh?” No better reply formed in Yoohyeon’s mind and she found herself at a loss for words. Instead of giving some sort of explanation, Minji gave Yoohyeon a small, cryptic smile.

“I’ll be taking my leave now,” Minji stated calmly, leaving her previous statement hanging in the air. She waved her hand and the top drawer of Yoohyeon’s nightstand flew open, the bookmark zipping out of it and into Minji’s outstretched palm. Satisfied, she turned to leave but Yoohyeon’s voice made her stop.

“What about the curse?” the girl asked. Minji turned back, amusement all over her features.

“Do you want to be cursed?” she inquired, arching an eyebrow.

“W-What? No, of course not I just… Well, you were going to…” Minji chuckled, efficiently cutting Yoohyeon off.

“I think you have enough on your plate without my interference. I will remove my curse altogether. Consider it my merciful forgiveness since I got my bookmark back.” Again, Minji turned to leave and, again, Yoohyeon stopped her.

“Before you go, do you have any tips about the not pushing people away thing?”

“I’m not sure,” Minji said thoughtfully. “I’m just starting to learn about it myself.”

“Maybe… we could learn together?” Instead of replying, Minji gave Yoohyeon that small, cryptic smile once more.

“Until we meet again, Kim Yoohyeon.” Before Yoohyeon could stop her a third time to ask her for her name, Minji disappeared in a blaze of purple, leaving Yoohyeon to wonder if she had even existed at all.