"Here she is! All ready to go home." Sowon smiled, handing over the cat carrier in her arms to the woman in front of her. It was exciting to help out with an adoption at the shelter and this time was no exception. The kitten she was helping with had been named Dahyun by one of the other shelter workers and the kitten had been high energy and fun to interact with. It made sense that she was adopted so soon after coming to the shelter. 

"Thank you so much for everything, Miss Kim." The woman in front of Sowon bowed, holding the carrier as carefully as she could. 

"You are very welcome." Sowon bowed back before continuing. "I didn't catch your name the first time. What was it again?"

"Sana. Minatozaki Sana. " The woman smiled brightly, the kitten in the carrier meowing happily. 

"It's been wonderful meeting you, Miss Minatozaki."  Sowon said, noting how pretty and unique of a last name she had. "I hope you and your new kitten have a wonderful life together. Don't be afraid to call if you need any help with anything."

"Of course. Thank you again!" Sana gave the woman a final smile before leaving the shelter with her new kitten, a happy bounce in her step. Sowon watched her go, letting out a small breath of relief. As much as she loved working here, socializing with new people was still exhausting for her. Plus, she was eager to shop and then get home. Ever since she found out her girls birthdays, Sowon had been secretly planning to throw them all a combined birthday party. And today was the day. Sowon was glad that she had been scheduled another early morning shift. It would have been hard to pull anything off if she had a late night shift this time.

"Excuse me." 

Sowon lifted her head to see a older woman standing in front of the desk. The blonde put on another smile, readying herself for another interaction.

"Hello! How can I help you?" Sowon said, feeling confused as wave of unease drifted over her. It was like the atmosphere around them both had shifted suddenly.

"I was wondering if you could possibly help me find a cat that would suit my home in one of the rooms. I don't know my away around here very well." The woman continued, her smile seeming fake from what Sowon could assume. But she couldn't exactly get away or say no. This was her job. Saying no wouldn't look good on her record.

"Yes, of course." Sowon said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Right this way, ma'am."

The walk to the cat room was unbelievably tense, Sowon side eyeing the lady a few times as they reached the first area.

"Thank you, Sojung." The woman said, her eyes piercing into Sowon's before looking down at the cats that were doing their own things.

"How do you know my name?" Sowon froze, her blood running cold. There was no way she just knew that, they didn't wear name tags most of the time here. And when they did wear their names on their uniforms, Sowon would put the name that the former kittens had given her instead of 'Sojung'.

"I think you know how." The woman chuckled. Sowon's fists clenched, opening to finally say what she had wanted to say to the witch the first time she had been contacted by her in the mall all those months ago. This was it. She would make her pay.

"Before you say anything," The disguised witch said, holding her hand up. "Please take a moment to listen to what I have to say."

"I'm listening." Sowon's voice had changed into an angry tone. She didn't want to let the witch talk but she didn't exactly have another choice.

"Everyone likes to paint us magic users as evil, but that's not the truth." 

"So you're saying you're not evil?" Sowon let out a sharp, short laugh. "I don't believe that. Not for a second. You're the reason my girls suffered for so long."

The disguised witch shook her head, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "You have no idea about their past lives, do you?"

"How could I?" Sowon said, crossing her arms as a few of the cats rubbed against her legs. "You erased their memories. You corrupted any proof of them existing before I found them."

The older woman sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs that was along the cat room's walls. Sowon continued to stand, everything in her body screaming for her to yell, to cuss out the witch for her actions. But part of her was curious, and confused, about what the woman had mentioned about the former kittens past.

"The black kitten." The disguised witch started to say, holding her hand out towards Sowon and flicking her wrist in a quick motion. Flashes of images shifted through Sowon's head, the blonde gripping at the wall to keep herself steady. The girl in the memories was crying as she ran through the city, black hair swishing back and forth with the motion. Sowon recognized her instantly. It was SinB.

As soon as the lost memories came, they were gone again. Sowon stared at the woman, her eyes wide.

"She had a dream, a passion. But her parents would never allow it, and even mocked her for it." The witch lowered her hand to pet one of the nearby cats, the cat purring softly.

"She ran away. Her parents didn't even care if she was gone, more focused on their own success to care about their daughter with such foolish dreams."

"So.....you...." Sowon stuttered, barely believing what she had just seen.

"I gave her an offer. An opportunity to have a different life. An opportunity to forget everything about her past life. And she took it. Even though she knew that there could be a chance that she would remain a kitten, lost without memories forever." 

"But what about when you taunted me in the mall that day?" Sowon was in denial, not wanting to believe that any of this was true. "How could you not be evil after doing that to me? After scaring me like that?"

"I was testing you." The witch responded bluntly. "I wasn't sure if you were serious about helping them. So many people think that us witches are evil, so I played the part, hoping that you would use that fear as motivation." 

Sowon was stunned. All this time, all those moments of being afraid, it had been some sort of joke? No. It was wrong of her to think that way. Her fear had fueled her, motivated her. As much as she hated to admit it, the witch's actions had helped. 

"What about the others? And why were you stalking us?" Sowon finally replied, her fists still tight. The witch raised her hand again, flicking her wrist like she had done before. More forgotten memories entered Sowon's mind through the woman's magic, playing for her in order as the witch told the girls stories.

"The white kitten. She had lost her passion after failing to find confidence in herself. Her parents hated her for it, reminding her day after day of her failure. And she blamed herself too, every day tormented by thoughts of what she could have done better. She was barely getting through life, her motivation for anything slipping away each day that passed by."

"The gray kitten. She had a talent for singing and she loved to sing for anyone who could hear. But her parents had other motives. They wanted to get rich off of her voice. And when she refused to sign up for any agencies, they couldn't accept it and disowned her. She never sang again after that day."

"The ginger kitten. She was warm, loving to bring smiles and laughter to anyone she could. But that wasn't good enough for her family. Her brother was a prodigy, going off to one of the best schools after graduating early. She studied hard but could never live up to her parent's expectations. She craved attention from her parents, trying to get love from them any way she could. But the only thing her parents wanted was her to be just like her brother, ignoring her when she couldn't provide the results they wanted."

"And finally, the brown striped kitten. She was the youngest in the family but she had been disliked from birth. Her parents wanted another boy, already disappointed by her older sister's birth. They barely held her, never comforted her, leaving her to learn everything by herself. Her siblings helped but after a while, they took their parents sides, growing cold towards her as they grew older."

The witch lowered her hand, the images from each girl's past fading away from Sowon's mind. The taller girl slumped to the floor, tears in her eyes from what she had seen. 

"It was fate that they all found each other after running away and taking my offer. I wasn't sure if they would make it. But you...." 

Sowon lifted her head to look at the disguised witch again, tears slipping down her cheeks. The woman had a kind smile on her face, her knowing eyes looking down at the blonde on the ground, surrounded by the cats.

"You saved them. You ended up being the answer to their prayers." The woman stood up, holding out her hand to Sowon. Sowon took it, letting the disguised witch help her to her feet.

"I'm....sorry. I didn't mean to-" Sowon started but the older woman silenced her, placing a finger over her lips.

"I had to play my part. I don't mind being seen as evil to others. I helped move fate along its path, watching over you to make sure what the cards had said about you was correct."

The older woman moved her hand away from Sowon's lips, making a motion to leave. Sowon stood still, only watching with dazed eyes. It was all hard to take in but what she had seen today proved the magic user's words to be right. What a strange turn of events.

"What...." Sowon finally was able to call out, the disguised witch stopping right before opening the door of the cat room to leave. "....What's your name?"

The older woman chuckled mischievously, raising a finger to her lips and winking.

"That's a secret. Enjoy your life with your fated girls to the fullest, Sojung. The universe is smiling down on you, always."

And just like that, the woman was gone, leaving the shelter as fast as she had arrived. 

Sowon remained in shock for most of her remaining shift, her mind wandering to the erased memories she had seen thanks to the witch's magic. She never would have expected that the 'evil' witch would turn out to be exactly the opposite. The relief she felt once she had fully accepted it was astounding. She wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. She could focus on the former kittens, on the future she had to look forward to with her girls. 

 Finishing her shift, Sowon said her goodbyes to the staff, clocking out for the weekend. Now this was going to be the fun part. What sort of cake should she get the former kittens? Would they like balloons? She already had all the presents wrapped and hidden away in the downstairs garage. All these thoughts stayed with her as she drove to the nearest store, parking the SUV carefully in the parking lot. As she stepped out of the car, Sowon's phone vibrated. 

[yerin]: are u home yet?

Sowon chuckled. Yerin was never good at waiting.

[sowon]: I just got off of work. Traffic is a bit bad so it might take me longer to get home.

That was a lie. But it was okay, she needed to make sure Yerin wouldn't catch on to what she was currently doing.

[yerin]: okay see you soon i love you<3

[sowon]: love you too<3

   Sowon slipped her phone into her jacket pocket, unable to help the happy expression that had spread onto her face. She took to shopping, working as fast as she could to get everything for this party that she didn't have already