Lately, more and more mystics have appeared on the streets and on SNS. Witches offer services to find customers their soulmates or bestow good luck for an exam or sometimes curse an enemy. Jooyeon's never met a witch before, although her friends have talked about going to have their fortunes told.

The woman bites her bottom lip and rubs her neck. "It was weird of me, I'm sorry. I just hate seeing pretty girls upset."

"It's fine. Thank you for the concern." She brushes the petals off of her lap, and they're kicked into the street by some natural wind.

The witch still rubs her neck and fluffs her short hair that sticks out from beneath a knit hat, standing on one foot to dig the toe of her other cracked leather boot into the broken concrete of the sidewalk. "Well, I-I have some time, if you wanna talk about it? Whatever it is? Sometimes a stranger is the best person to talk to.” She hitches a thumb over her shoulder and half smiles. “We could get tea?"

Normally, Jooyeon would politely decline. Her problems are her own; there's no reason to unload onto anyone else, much less a stranger. Then again, what are the chances she'll ever meet this same witch in all of this big of a city again? She doesn't really feel like going to her friends and being coddled or listen to their detailed plans of vengeance. But just tea with a stranger...

She smiles softly. "Tea sounds nice. Will any café allow your bird?"

The witch picks up the hutch, displaying the dark corvid for scrutiny. "If he's quiet, sure, although we have a usual place we like. Most people think he's stuffed, but he's actually just really shy in public. At home, he talks all the time or just makes general noise."

"He's really cute." The raven ruffles his feathers, looking at the sky with a throaty cluck. Jooyeon stands up and unbunches her skirt from the backs of her thighs. "What's his name?"

"Kyungsoo. I didn't name him; my sister did before I could, but it stuck,” her hair whips across her face as she shakes her head, as though providing defense in case Jooyeon should judge, “and when I tried to change it, he refused to answer to anything else, so." She shrugs. "Kyungsoo, maybe Soo, if he's in a good mood."

"Hello, Kyungsoo." Jooyeon offers a hand beside the cage, and the raven pushes his beak between the wires to touch her fingers and gently bite a fingertip.

"Wow, he actually likes you. I'm kind of surprised. Although, he also doesn't like seeing pretty girls upset, either. We have that in common."

"That and magic, right?" They start walking, Jooyeon following wherever the witch decides to walk.

"Yep. He's my familiar. I've had him since he was a fledgling.” She chuckles and adds, “He was an ugly baby, lemme tell ya."

"I think all babies are ugly until they're a few months old. It seems like the greatest trial of family, caring for something so ugly and helpless, because who else will, if not you?"

“Makes sense, although have you ever seen newborn chinchillas? The cutest things ever. As long as it has fur, it’s cute, I find. A girlfriend raises rodents—hamsters, gerbils, mice, et cetera, and she just about goes to pieces with each new litter, but...they’re so weird looking? I dunno.” She shrugs the shoulder her cage hangs from, and Kyungsoo grunts in protest as he’s jarred.

They walk to a café Jooyeon's never noticed before. She's shopped on the same street, but some of the stores don't even look familiar, with broomsticks standing in big barrels and herbs hanging in bunches to dry in the windows.

“Let's grab a table, and I'll order for us, okay?”

“I'll pay you back—” The witch waves her off, magicing Jooyeon's wallet back into her purse.

“No worries. I've got good credit here.” She winks. “My family owns it.”

Jooyeon doesn't like feeling like she owes someone, but she slowly sits on one of the café chairs and marvels at how it lowers itself until she's seated and then rises back to its full height. Kyungsoo crackles in his cage, tucking his beak between the bars until she offers a hand to play with.

The witch approaches the counter with a loud greeting and laughter that quiets to conversation Jooyeon can't make out. The barista eagerly bounces, trying to look around the witch as she deftly moves back and forth to block the way.

They must be talking about her.

Maybe it's weird for a normal person to be in a magic café.

Or maybe she's the weird one, in a normal café.

But she was invited, Jooyeon tells herself. It's okay to be here.

The witch returns with two mugs of tea and a plate of cake cut into slices. “So, this is a bit belated, but I'm Chanmi.”

“Jooyeon. Nice to meet you, and thank you for the tea.” She smells it and sips it and hums in surprise. It's probably the best tea she's ever had. The perfect temperate, aromatic and sweet without being nauseating.

“She can be a pest, but my friend makes super good tea. She can figure out what you need by looking at your aura or something—she explained it to me once, but I zoned out. It's not really my area of expertise.”

“What is? I don't...I don't know anything about magic.”

“Oh, like charms and stuff, but I want to hear about what's troubling you. It's gotta be something bad to have you sitting out in the cold like that.” Chanmi stabs a piece of cake with a small fork. “A stranger could be the best person to talk to. I know I talk a lot, but I'm a pretty good listener.” Kyungsoo ruffles his wings, dancing foot to foot when Chanmi pokes at him with the fork. He steals the cake and picks it to crumbs.

Jooyeon watches her reflection in her mug. A bit of tea leaf floats on its surface. “I got dumped. Again. After I said I was done with 'serious' relationships...” Sighing, she mutters, “I thought this would be different. We were together for three years and nine months, and she just...said it wasn't working out. Wanted to stay friends. It wasn't a bad breakup, I guess, but it still hurts, and I really don't know if I could be friends, even if I really wanted to.

“She didn't do it to be mean, and I'm sure she thought it over for a long time, because that's just how she is, but,” she shrugs.

Chanmi drops another bit of cake into the bird's cage, then pushes the plate and remaining slice towards Jooyeon. “I'm sorry; that's rough. I like your earrings, by the way.”

“Huh? Oh, thanks. They're a gift from my ex, but I really like them.” Jooyeon props her elbow on the table, cradling her chin on her palm. “I want to face her and wish her all the best, but I can't even think about her without wanting to crawl into bed and crying for a month.”

“That's understandable. You were together for a long time; you need to take time for yourself to heal and move on with acceptance. You don't have to be friends; you don't even have to like her anymore. Find a place of peace and emotional balance.”

“That sounds really nice,” Jooyeon laughs hollowly. Her tea is gone; she didn't even notice she'd been eating the cake. It's spongy and has an aftertaste of a spice she recognizes but can't think of the name. “It also sounds impossible right now.” Automatically, she reaches into her purse and checks the time on her phone with a sigh. “I should be going.” She scoots her chair back, heart thumping when it lowers itself until she remembers that's apparently a thing furniture does in magic shops, and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Thanks again for listening to me, and—

“—Oh, no!” Jooyeon frantically touches her ears, feeling only one stud and looking over the floor desperately. “I lost an earring!”

“I'm sorry,” Chanmi says over Kyungsoo's crackling calls. “Maybe Kyungsoo can find it.”

The girls walk to the door; it's covered in rivulets of light rain. Jooyeon sighs; it just figures.

Chanmi jogs back to her bag and rummages inside, removing a compact umbrella with a triumphant ah-ha!. “Here. You can keep it.”

Jooyeon morosely removes the remaining earring and drops it into a small pocket in her purse. “Thanks...and thank you for listening.” She smiles softly. “You were right before; 'something bad happening will find balance with something good,' because I met you. And I will return your umbrella.” Cheeks pink—definitely from the cool wind that sweeps in as the door opens—she waves and pops open the umbrella just outside the door.

Kyungsoo shakes his feathers, and a shiny silver earring falls to the floor of his cage. Popping open the door, he takes it in his beak and glides to Chanmi's shoulder.

“Good boy, Soo. Pretty girls like her don't deserve heartache like that. Let's lighten the mood with a little with a bit of magic.” She rolls the earring between her thumb and forefinger. “Do we charm her ex with shoes that never match or untamable eyebrows?” The crow tilts his head and blinks rapidly. “Eyebrows it is.”

a/n: Written for Effective Fest round 3. (prompt no.R112)