▬ Chapter 21: Her Final Wish ▬

Woohyun led Minji to a glass-encased veranda that overlooked the calming ocean near the event hall. The waves that night were just as calm as the slightly cold breeze that followed the two. While Minji busied herself to take in the surreal surroundings, Woohyun silently followed her with a smile gracing his face.

He knew that this may as well be their last meeting as he doesn’t know what might happen afterwards so to compensate, he wanted to gaze at the woman in front of him for as long as he can. After a few moments, Minji settled to prop her hands by the railings as she began to breathe in the night air.

“Whoa, your world feels so unreal. It’s like a dream.”

Woohyun followed suit and stood in the same manner. “Being able to stay next to you has also been like a dream.” He looked at her and noticed the change in expression. Before, Minji would avert her gaze and feel flustered by the cheesy compliment. However this time, she looked at him straight in the eyes. It’s as if she was accepting some kind of challenge head on.

“You know,” the genie faced the ocean view again, “since the day I made you the promise of keeping my distance, I have learned quite a few things about myself. It’s like a self-discovery.”

“What are you talking about?”

“About my role as a genie.”

She looked at him and somehow her heart skipped a beat. With the aid of the moonlight, she couldn’t help but notice his sharp features that night. His gaze was soft, skin looking vibrant even in the dark, and his lips that were slightly parted exhaled warm air that she felt due to their close proximity. She noticed that she didn’t feel uncomfortable unlike before. Maybe this was what Dongwoo meant by feeling a different kind of attraction for this man.

Curious, she parted her own lips to respond, “And what did you find?”

“I found the answer to the question that I’ve kept on asking myself all these years,” he sighed. “If she would have been content with my decision.”

Minji tilted her head in confusion, “She?”

“My genie.”

“To start off, we genies were once human too.”

Since her meeting with Niel, Woohyun’s previous words have started to become more unclear. Although she never got the chance to ask him, she knew that every time he mentions his past, he doesn’t want to look back into it. She noticed his saddened look even from the first time he met her especially when he talked about the forbidden rules. Perhaps he broke a forbidden rule?

Upon the sudden realization, Minji grew more curious as she scrunched her eyes to try and decipher the circumstances.

“When we first talked about your past, you mentioned that you were once human. When I was with Niel, he also mentioned the same thing but what was surprising is that the way we got connected to your world…” she paused as she looked at the man beside her. Woohyun was still leaning against the railing but his attention was on her the moment she talked, “…was the same.”

The genie stood motionless while he fought with what’s on his mind. Should he tell her? Is he ready for the consequences? What would happen with their relationship afterwards? All these questions invaded his mind but the moment they entered the veranda, he already had an answer to all his questions.

“Then,” with a sad smile, he fully faced her, “would you like me to tell you a story?”

“Of your life with your genie?”

“Yes,” his gaze became sharper and Minji felt a cold chill run down her spine. She couldn’t bring herself to respond especially when he said the next line.

“…and how I killed her.”

Minji gulped, “K-Killed? You’re just over exaggerating, right?”

There was a moment of silence before Woohyun walked away from the railing and stood in front of the sofa. His eyes looked unreadable and that somehow creeped out Minji. This wasn’t the Woohyun that she was used to interacting with. He had that cold aura around him and she didn’t like its unwelcoming presence.

“Please,” he motioned for her to sit down. “This might take a while.”

Being the usual gentleman, Woohyun took off his suit and draped it over her shoulders before he sat down beside her. She grasped it tightly as she found his lingering smell somewhat comforting.

“Just like Niel said, we encountered similar situations. Our initial wishes might be different but our circumstances are the same.” Although Minji kept her eyes on him, his eyes looked into the distance as if recollecting his past memories.

“My life as a human was all about struggles. Although I wasn’t a good one, I was an aspiring singer. I loved to sing and it was my life. Then one day, my throat ran dry and I could barely talk. I was diagnosed with a tumor on my throat which made the doctors conclude that I could no longer sing much less be able to form words. My world sank the moment I heard their diagnosis. If I wasn’t going to be a singer, then what would I be? All my life, I cultivated my desire to be on stage from endless practice to keeping up with my daily regimen so that my throat would be fine. But I guess nothing was on my side.

“At that time when I saw the shop, I was about to give up on life. Then some ‘genie’ pops out and tells me that she can grant me three wishes of anything that I wanted. When I learned about the wishes, I was perplexed. I doubted what my genie said because it was too good to be true. So with that, my first wish was just like yours: to cure my illness.”

The silence from Minji only encouraged for Woohyun to continue.

“That’s when my rivalry with Niel began. According to my genie, he was already in contract with the Dark Magicians a few days before I was diagnosed. We were never on good terms even since then. My genie nor anyone in the genie’s realm wouldn’t tell me for certain if Niel was the cause of my illness. But even if they didn’t answer, there was no other explanation because from what I remember, I was perfectly fine the previous night.”

“Oh my gosh–” Minji covered with both of her hands.

Woohyun looked at her meekly, his eyes looking less cold but there was still no light within them, “That was the past so please don’t worry about it.”

She could only nod for him to continue again.

This time, Woohyun faced her before he began, “Before I knew it, my genie and I got along quite well even to the point that genies were beginning to question our relationship. They noticed her change in personality after she was with me for a while. She grew brighter as a person and at the same time, she began to take a spot in my heart. I knew love is forbidden yet I couldn’t help myself.

“Time flew by and the second wish was made not long after. Everything was still the same until the day it happened. I made a mistake and all I could give her was my final wish.”

[Flashback 3 years ago]

“Nam Woohyun!” a woman with a black, medium-length wavy hair popped out of the crowd. She wore a business casual suit – the genies’ trademark – with the sleeves rolled up midway just below her elbows which made her light blue dress shirt line its edges. She had on short leather ankle boots that had a small heel and was covered by her black formal trousers.

The man in question merely turned to face her for a second with a smile before going back to what he was doing – signing autographs.

“Kyaa~ It’s Nam Woohyun!”

“Please sign for me, too!”

“Can I get a selca with you?!”

Woohyun laughed and finished with a wink, “Ladies, one at a time! Don’t push, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt. Oppa will go to you instead.”

The crowd got even wilder and the former woman couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey, ert!”

“Oh, Heeahn! S-Sorry! My eyes landed on something nice and I got carried away. The next time I looked, they were following me.” He stopped to give a girl her book back, “Here’s your autograph!”

“Thank you!”

Someone from the crowd shouted, “Who are you talking too?”

“My girlfriend~?” he teased.

Heeahn clicked her tongue and felt flustered. No matter how many times he says that out loud, she just couldn’t stand it. Woohyun always teases her even though he knew that genie-client relationships are forbidden. Although that may be the case, seeing him looking happy made her just as happier.

At least he’s looking better than the first time I met him.

“How many times did I tell you to stop calling me that? Even Daeryong and Soryong are getting worried that you might be getting carried away. And stop running away without telling me first! Did you forget the twenty feet radius?!”

Once the fans finally died down, Woohyun went inside the jewelry store as initially plann