“Mare?” Ji-Hae said, as if it tasted weird on his tongue. Mare suddenly got insecure about her own pronunciation of her own name. Her Italian told her to pronounce it “Marae”, that's how everyone had pronounced it. Some of her English friends called her “Maere”, for the convenience of their language.
“Well, you can otherwise pronounce it ‘Maere’,” she said, but realised, “Or… it will be more ‘Maereu’-”
Ji-Hae held up a hand. “‘Marae’ works just fine, it feels easier to pronounce.”
The subway turned and Mare took a firmer grip around the pole she was holding. Ji-Hae leaned against the glass dividers between the doors and the seats, trying to look unbothered while he was slowly sliding towards the doors.
“Mare…” he said again, in his low voice. “It sounds… European?”
“Yes, I’m from Italy,” Mare answered.
Ji-Hae nodded, looking out into the pitch black windows that reflected back his image.
“Your korean is really good, how long have you been here?” he asked.
Mare wanted to laugh, but the chuckle sort of got stuck in her throat. She gave a small cough and turned her head, wanting to look at anything but him.
“I… erm, I will tell you later.”
This was not the right time. The chances of him believing it was bigger at a more private place, than the most public place, the subway.
The train stopped and Mare took a firmer grip around the cage, staring at the people that stepped off the train, and entered. Just two more stops and they would be closer to safety. They stood in silence until the next stop, as the doors opened, let off passengers and new ones stepped on. Mare thought it was all fine, until the doors closed and she suddenly felt an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She turned her head slowly, looking like she was checking the subway map. She glanced at the new faces in the wagon. Someone knew who she was and what she was carrying.
They had found them.
The train rolled up to the station, making a harsh break. Mare loosened her grip, tripping over, bumping into Ji-Hae.
“When I give the signal, you take the cage and run.”
The low voice took Ji-Hae by surprise. Her expression was the same, but she had a sharpness in her eyes. Ji-Hae licked his lips, letting go of the pole as the doors opened, following Mare as they stepped off the subway. People rolled out, filling the small platform. They followed the wave, moving up the stairs. Soon the cold autumn air hit Mare along with the sound of traffic. She got up, stopped and turned to see if Ji-Hae had followed her. Seeing him in his white vet coat she realised how odd he looked. And how odd she looked. Well, no wonder they found them. They didn’t really put effort into blending in.
Ji-Hae got up beside Mare and they started to walk side by side, having the cage between them. It was about a ten minute walk to her apartment. If they could just do it then it would all be fine. But then that uncomfortable gut feeling came back. In haste Mare turned her head, looking back. In the crowd she thought she could spot a girl, someone walking the same way they did. She was wearing a cap, baggy pants and a top looking a bit too cold for the season. Her bracelets were giving her away, making sounds as she walked. Mare pulled Ji-Hae’s arm while she pushed him to the right, moving up a smaller road. As she had foreseen, the girl walked in their steps. It was still a journey to Mare’s apartment. She looked up at Ji-Hae, who seemed to just be following her. He knew something was up, but had decided to trust her, just to the apartment. For the cat. Or the girl. Or whatever it was that they were carrying in the cage.
The road turned and another girl came walking down from the alley above. She started to walk in front of Mare and Ji-Hae. Her hair swayed in a ponytail and her plastic bag was making sounds in the wind. She didn’t look back, but Mare saw how her steps became irregular, trying to fit a rhythm that wasn’t hers.
Mare pulled up the cage to her chest and placed a hand on it, whispering under her breath a spell. Ji-Hae glanced her way, hearing her.
“Sorry?” he whispered, having his eyes glued on the girl in front of them.
“My apartment is not far,” Mare began, “I’m going to give you the cage by the next road that leads to the right. Walk down that road, follow it until you see a cafe. Take left, walk down two blocks and then left again. My door is right behind the two big green containers. The code is 1456.”
Ji-Hae looked up and saw how the houses opened up to the right. He swallowed loudly. Cafe, left, then left. Green containers. 1456.
“Could you please tell me what is happening?”
He threw a look back at the girl following them.
“We are being followed,” Mare stated in a whisper. “I will distract and you get the cat to safety.”
Well, Ji-Hae hadn’t signed up for this.
“I will catch up with you, I promise.”
Their departure came faster than expected. Mare discreetly gave Ji-Hae the cage, which was quite heavy in his opinion, taking a firm grip around it. She placed a hand on his back and pushed him in front of her, making him walk past her and down the alley that led to the right. When he was out of danger, Mare slowed down, eventually stopping in the crossing. She glanced up at the girl in front of her, who seemed to trip over her own feet, while the girl behind her had stopped as well. Her head tilted down, covering her face with the cap. Mare turned and stared at her, letting her breath turn visible in the air. Some language spell wasn’t needed.
“Leave the boy alone. I’m the one who is making your life hell,” she said in italian.
There was silence, as Mare could see a smile appear on the girl’s face.
“아니요 (no),” it was the girl behind her with the plastic bag. “우리는 삶을 지옥으로 만든어요. (We make life into hell).”
Mare glanced over her shoulder. The plastic bag was lying on the ground and the girl’s eyes were glowing, the ponytail moving in the air. Mare turned back to the girl with the cap. Her smile was wide, wider than what a normal mouth could do. Her lipstick seemed to have smeared a bit and when she tilted her head up, her eyes were shining green. The tattoo on her neck, being invisible for the untrained eye, was nothing but a curved line. Mare had seen it time and time again.
The Cho-seung-dal Tribe showed themselves at last. Mare didn’t dare to move.
“What did you do to her?”
The girl with the hat tilted her head, staring back at Mare.
“게임을 했어요 (we played games),” her voice was whispery, almost turning into smoke as it left her mouth, “이제 네 차롈 거예요. (now it will be your turn).”
Mare didn’t have time to answer back before the girl came towards her. Her hat turned to a circular shape, made of thick straw, tied under her chin with a ribbon. The ponytail girl behind Mare sprinted forward as well, pulling out a longer knife.
And all Mare could do was to stand, and wait.
It felt like time slowed down for a moment. She felt it, the materia around her, before she pulled out her wand from her inner pocket. In the air she wrote out symbols, before she caught them with her wand and threw them into the ground, having sparks and smoke surround her, making the two witches fly backwards, landing on the ground. It was like fireworks going wrong, crashing into the ground.
It didn’t do much. The ponytail girl quickly got up, summoning her powers. Soon they flew towards Mare, who turned and held her hands up, slicing the attacks in the air with a pink light coming from her fingers. She quickly turned to block another attack from the hat girl, using her wand to dismiss it. She threw a fire spell towards the hat girl, hoping it would distract while she took out the ponytail girl.
The girl’s knife was now levitating in the air, which Mare now saw was entirely made of magic, strong, life long magic. She painted out a sword, one she remembered that her grandpa had hanging on the wall in his living room. It grew in her hand, transparent, having a warm pink colour to it. It worked wonderfully when the witch got close, trying to slice Mare’s torso in half. Two blocks and Mare’s magic sword was gone, eaten up by the witch’s knife. It slowly disappeard out of her hand. Mare managed to stab the witch with her elbow in the chest, before she had to turn around and block the other witch’s attacks. She was coming at her like a machine gun. She was skilled, the one with the hat. She knew how to fight.
The hat witch had taken herself out of her disguise, now standing in a modern hanbok, pointing a sharp arrow towards Mare. She had created a bow, shimmering transparent in black. Mare looked up, meeting eyes with the witch. The smile creeped up on her as the witch fired.
Ji-Hae heard the explosion and threw a glance over his shoulder, seeing the sparks that shimmered in pink and red. He decided that overthinking it was not the best option now.
He got down the road, seeing the café Mare had talked about. He stopped for a moment, looking at its neon sign and the people sitting by the window, before he took left. He marched in speed, glancing down at the cat in the cage. He passed the first block, being observant on any sound. The cars down the road made it hard to hear. He turned and suddenly a girl stood beside him.
“Hi,” she said, her big eyes looking up at him while he flinched. He sighed mentally. He knew where this was going.
“I saw you when I was walking and just… Can I get your number?”
Ji-Hae looked at her, taking a step back as he said,
“No, sorry.”
He was to walk past her, but she got in his way.
“Oh, please, I think you look really cool.”
“I said no. Just go.”
“Is that your cat?”
The girl got down, looking at the cat in the cage.
“Leave me alone.”
“Can I hold her? She looks really fluffy.”
The girl was getting really close and Ji-Hae took steps back, getting irritated.
“Just go, don’t you have anything else better to do?”
The girl suddenly stood still, and her smile faded a bit.
“I said I want to hold her!”
Ji-Hae’s eyes grew big as he looked confused at the girl. She pulled out something as her eyes turned dark, the whites disappearing completely. Ji-Hae backed off, trying to look for a place to hide. Just as the girl had whispered something incoherent and was pointing a decorative fan towards him, something, shimmering in colours of red and pink, swirled around the girl and lifted her up. Mare walked past him, her lips pressed together while she moved her hands and the girl flew into the wall, falling unconscious to the ground. There was a moment of silence before Mare turned around, looking at Ji-Hae.
“I told you to run,” she said with big eyes.
Ji-Hae had lost his words.
“Did you do that?”
Mare exhaled as she gripped her left arm, covering the blood that had stained her jacket. She gave him a glance, before she started to walk down the road. Ji-Hae became standing, but one glance at the unconscious girl by the wall made him start to walk again, sprinting after Mare. The adrenaline pumping through Mare’s body made her tunnelsighted. When Ji-Hae got in her way she felt how earth pulled her back.
“I-I get that you…” he moved his hand in front of her, “you have cool powers. But what… what sort of hero are you?”
Mare almost laughed at him calling her a hero. She couldn’t be more far away than that.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She pulled forward her wand, showing it to him. “I’m a witch.”
When it all had left her mouth she understood that it all could have been a bit more wrapped up in a nice bow, but she didn’t have time for that.
The stick didn’t say much to Ji-Hae. Mare saw that.
“You call them mudang here in Korea.”
That made it click.
“Oh, you are a shaman?”
Mare walked around him, pulling him as they continued down the road.
“Sort of, not quite.” She held up her wand. “I have my wand, shamans don’t.”
Ji-Hae frowned. “Oh, it’s like Harry Potter?”
“Call it what you want.”
Mare twitched, turning her head, dodging as something dark passed her head. She moved her hand in the air, writing something out, before she turned and used her wand to throw the spell at the witch, who flew over the ground. Ji-Hae just stared.
“Look, we can have this conversation later. Right now we have to run.”
She grabbed him, rushing down the last metres to the next crossing. Her head turned left, right. No one in sight.
“They are far more than I expected,” Mare mumbled while she pulled Ji-Hae up the road, towards the big green containers. As they reached them, just a stones throw from Mare’s door, a figure landed in front of them. It was swift and Mare didn’t see who it was until she had pulled her wand and pointed it just centimetres from the witch’s face. The witch raised her hands.
“Calm down, it’s just me.”
She was wearing a green modern hanbok, long sleeves with saggy pants that were tied together at the end. Mare exhaled.
“What took you so long? I thought I was clear with that explosion.”
“Well, we are not used to pink.”
The witch turned and looked at Ji-Hae.
“Who is he?”
“He’s the escort.”
The two ladies looked at Ji-Hae, who grabbed the cage with two hands, bowing awkwardly.
“Ji-Hae, this is Cho Min-a.” Mare nodded over at the witch. “She’s a mudang.”
Ji-Hae nodded silently, just as loud noises came from behind. In reflex Mare pushed Ji-Hae behind the green containers, having the company take shelter. Min-a kneeled down, peeking out from behind. In her belt were small bags, a stick with jingle bells that rattled low as she moved, along with colourful stripes of fabric, neatly tucked through the belt.
“Min-a, help Ji-Hae with the cat.”
“What cat?”
“I meant Su-Min.”
“You found her?”
“Yeah…” the answer was filled with air, almost as Mare sighed at the same time. She pulled a sharpie out from her pocket while she rolled up the sleeves of her coat.
“I will distract them, you run while I cover you.”
“Is your apartment safe?” Min-a asked.
“I placed three different protection spells, it should be fine until the rest comes.”
Ji-Hae’s eyes were glued on Mare, watching her write out words and symbols on her arm in ink. He wanted to ask what it was, but before he could, she had taken eye contact, before nodding towards Min-a.
“Go.”
She stepped out, turning to look down the road. It was empty, deserted of their enemies. She stopped in the middle, exposing herself to whoever wanted to take her down. The steps of Ji-Hae and Min-a scraped behind her, and somewhere their enemies understood too. The ponytail girl appeared, not hesitating to attack. The pink shimmer appeared around Mare’s hands, blocking the strike. Soon many others followed, appearing out of thin air. There were at least six, seven. Mare decided to use her hands rather than her wand. Marks of her warm magic flew through the air. She shielded herself, but failed and landed on the ground.
Ji-Hae was trying to walk as fast as he could, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking over his shoulder, seeing things he had only seen in the theatres and could dream about happening right in front of his eyes. He stopped when Mare fell to the ground, fighting urges to rush forward and help her.
“Come on, we have to go.” Min-a grabbed his arm, pulling him gently. They were almost at the door when Min-a saw how Mare pointed her wand towards herself, towards the doodles she had written on her arm. Min-a’s eyes got wide.
“Oh no…” She pulled in Ji-Hae even more. “Hurry, before she does it.”
Ji-Hae turned. “Do what?”
“Blow the place up.”
They exchanged looks before Min-a pulled him up the road. They rushed the last metres up to the door.
“Code?” Min-a asked. Ji-Hae pulled the cover up, looking at the worn out buttons before he entered 1456. The lock made its usual happy tune and Ji-Hae pulled the door open, letting Min-a in before he stepped in, throwing a last glance towards Mare before he closed it. He stood there in darkness for a moment before he heard the biggest sound, making him almost fall back. Min-a turned with big eyes, looking at the door that moved in its hinges, shaking a bit. Soon it stopped and she sighed loudly.
“She was right,” she mumbled and Ji-Hae didn’t quite understand what she was referring to. He carefully stepped into the apartment, looking around in the dim light. It was rather dark. Smoke and dust swirled outside the window, making it feel like they were in a bunker, hiding from war.
“Ok, let’s take a look at her.”
Min-a had moved over to the kitchen, looking around for a kitchen towel.
“Get her out while I prep the floor.”
Ji-Hae did as told. He placed the cage down on the floor, opening it and gently taking the cat out. It seemed like she was still breathing, but it was faint.
“She doesn’t have much time left,” Ji-Hae commented.
“Then let’s hurry.” Min-a sat down on her knees while Ji-Hae placed the cat down, getting down on his knees. Min-a pulled out her stick with jingle bells, shaking it in a rhythmic pattern as she closed her eyes, humming quietly. It only took a minute or so before she stopped, placing the stick down and holding her hands out over the cat, humming and moving her hands in a pattern. The cat grew and suddenly the girl was lying on the floor again. Ji-Hae gasped. It was just as strange as it was last time. Min-a’s eyes got glassy as she just stared at the scientist.
“What did they do to you?” she said quietly while she gently started to examine her friend. Like an answer the door made sounds again and Mare soon stumbled in. She was covered in dust, her coat seemed to be missing fabric at the hem and she was breathing heavily.
“That will keep them away for a while,” she mumbled, throwing her coat on the floor and rolling up her sleeves. She walked over and washed away the dirt on her hands in the kitchen sink, grabbing a towel to clean her glasses off the dust, before she got down beside Min-a.
“Is she still breathing?” she asked, glancing over to Ji-Hae. He nodded shyly.
“But not for long.”
Mare’s face had frozen into a serious frown. She rubbed her hands together and closed her eyes while she held them out. Pink and reds swirled out of her hands, over Su-Min. She sat like that for a minute or so, Min-a and Ji-Hae staring at her, until the colours faded and Mare opened her eyes.
“I can’t save her.”
Her words made it sting in Ji-Hae’s heart. His hands clenched together as he rested them on his knees. Min-a looked with anticipation on Mare.
“So?” she asked.
“I’m getting my sister.”
Mare pushed herself over the floor and pulled out a piece of chalk from one of the kitchen drawers. She drew a circle around herself, symbols outside it. She got up and grabbed one of the half used candles that were standing on the kitchen counter, lighting it up with her magic and placed it in front of her inside the circle. She sat on her knees, closing her eyes as the outside made the apartment shake once more, having the door move in its place. Mare focused on her breathing, feeling the air within the circle, cancelling everything out. She felt the movement of the candle, moving deeper and deeper into herself. And then, she felt that she was there.
“Hope!”
…
”Hope!”
…
…
…
”What is it?”
Mare opened her eyes. She was sitting in a white space, so big that she couldn’t see where it ended. Not far from her was her sister standing. She was working by a big black cauldron, stirring slowly with her eyes glued on it.
“What is it? I’m quite busy.”
Mare got up from the floor, walking towards her.
“I really need your help.”
Her sister looked herself alike when Mare left her a few months ago, except that her hair was shorter and the green streaks in it had faded.
“Can it wait like… an hour?”
An hour? What was she doing in that cauldron?
“No, I need you now.”
Hope turned and her eyes got big as she looked at her sister who was still covered in dust and hadn’t managed her hair in a few months.
“Wow, what happened to you?”
“I’ll explain later.” Mare placed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I found the missing witch, but she has been used for necromancy.”
Hope stopped in her stirring for a moment.
“That’s quite serious.”
“Yes, and I can’t save her myself.”
Hope pressed her lips together, considering what to do.
“Look, I will fix your potion,” Mare paused, “or whatever that you are doing.”
“Yeah but it’s…” Hope made a frustrating sound. “I have been working on this one for months now and if I have to start over I will blow up our house.”
Mare glanced over to the pot. “What do you want me to do?”
Hope sighed loudly. “My phone is on a timer, when it rings, put what’s in the green cup into the pot, do NOT stir, wait until it becomes a clear red colour. When that happens, put what’s in the small blue cup, it’s by the sink, and then put a timer on for 15 minutes. If I’m not back by then just pull the cauldron from the fire.
Mare nodded. “Got it.”
Hope grabbed her hand and placed it on the wooden spoon she used for stirring. “Stir until timer.”
Mare felt a switch in reality as she grabbed the spoon. It was like a kaleidoscope, half seeing her own reality, and half seeing Hope’s, smelling the earthy smells of their potion room back home in Italy.
“Something I should know?” Hope asked while she walked over the white floor, over to Mare’s circle.
“I have Min-a and Ji-Hae there. Min-a is a witch so if the protection spells won’t hold then she will step in. Ji-Hae is… a vet.”
“So?”
“Ask him to help you if you need it.”
“Is he a wizard?”
“No.”
Hope stopped and turned around, having a raised eyebrow. Mare turned and looked at her, giving her a bothersome face.
“I will explain, just go! We are losing her.”
Hope turned and sat down in the circle, closing her eyes. It felt like landing right after you had jumped. Hope opened her eyes, being in her sister's body. It was very much real, except that she had this feeling back in her head that this was not where she belonged. I’m the distance, she could hear the noises of her pot brewing, far away, back in Italy.
Mare had the same experience, having the familiar smells come to her. She kept on stirring while she looked around in her sister's body, seeing the herbs hanging from the ceiling and liquids in different containers. She scanned the area, seeing the green cup her sister probably talked about.
“Isn’t this my coffee cup?” Mare asked out loud. Hope heard her sister's voice echo in her head.
“The other ones were dirty, I didn’t have time to wash them.”
“I hope there aren't any dangerous things in it…”
“No, it’s just rosemary.”
Hope saw the two individuals who were staring at her in the small and dim apartment.
“Did you tell them?”
“Erm, no.”
Hope sighed, looking up at her new company.
“Sorry for the confusion, me and my sister are currently co-hosting each other's bodies.” Hope gestured with her hands.
Ji-Hae and Min-a could have figured it out by the eyes glowing green and the change in body language. The two sat in silence and watched the witch get up on her feet.
“Questions can be saved until I’m done–“
Hope stopped as she pressed her face into a painful grimace.
“Ahh… what did you do to your arm?”
“Got shot,” Mare answered back.
Hope pulled the sleeve up and saw how the overarm had turned into what looked like a bruise, but it was black and big.
“Jesus Mare…” she mumbled while she grabbed her arm with her hand and pulled out the black poison from her arm. The air vibrated with blues and purples while Hope gathered the black poison into a ball and placed it into the nearest container, which was a glass in the sink.
“I placed it into a glass,” Hope said. “That I have to save both you and the girl… speaking of, where do you have the instruments?”
“Bottom drawer in the kitchen.”
Hope pulled it out in haste and found old metal instruments that for anyone else looked like torture devices form the 1800’s.
“So…” Min-a was the first one who dared to speak, “You are… Mare’s sister?”
Hope moved over and sat down beside the body, having the instruments crash on the floor.
“Twin sister. I’m in Italy right now but as I said, co-hosting.”
Hope turned and looked at Ji-Hae just as the apartment shook again, having it rumble over them.
“You are a vet?”
Ji-Hae looked up at the person who he thought he knew a little, but who he for sure knew he had never met in his life. He nodded with a small, “Yes.”
“Good, hold these.”
“So… you have sort of possessed each other's bodies?” Min-a asked. Hope-in-Mare’s-body turned her head towards her.
“Magic is always fun when you are identical twins,” she answered back while handing over the instruments to Ji-Hae. She gave him something that looked like a big ugly pair of scissors, metal clamps and a net.
“Did they open her up?” Hope asked out into the air, as Mare answered on the other end,
“No, don’t think so. Ask Ji-Hae.”
Hope turned to Ji-Hae.
“Do you know if they opened her up?”
Ji-Hae looked with big eyes at Mare-who-wasn’t-Mare and then down on the witch. “No, not what I saw. Just… the symbols.”
Hope nodded as she held out her hands over the body.
“Then it’s just spiritually...”
The air seemed to vibrate, having the blues swirl in the air slowly, clustering together, creating patterns, forming sort of a circle, a hole.
“Ah shit,” Hope said under her breath.
“What?” Mare asked, almost hearing her sister's own thoughts.
“Oh this is gonna take a while.”
Hope’s fingers got tense as if she was holding a marionette doll that was really heavy.
“Vet boy, get opposite of me.”
Ji-Hae moved around, holding the instruments. He tried very hard to keep his mentality together and breathe deeply to be able to think straight.
“Ok, you don’t see this, so trust me,” Hope started, “I have managed to get a hold of her soul, but we have to fix things.” She nodded towards a visible edge that her magic had created. “Use one of the clamps to close it off, we want it to be as small as possible.”
Ji-Hae was a bit confused, wondering how he would be able to do that. To him it was only magical particles in the air. But while he carefully leaned over and tried to pull the hole together. He managed to grip around something, and the metal clamp stuck into something. As he let it go, it sort of floated in the air.
“Good, grab the scissors.”
The timer suddenly rang by Mare and she stopped the stirring just out of surprise.
“The timer Mare.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Your coffee cup with rosemary.”
“Yeah–”
“No stirring!”
“Yeah I heard you once!”
Mare pulled out the wooden spoon and threw the rosemary into the pot. She leaned over and watched as the liquid didn’t change that much.
“How long does it take for it to become red?”
“Like, 5 min?”
Hope turned her attention back to Ji-Hae and her fingers that were getting tired.
“Ok, when I say cut, you cut under my fingers.”
Ji-Hae nodded and opened the scissors, standing in stand-by. The scissors looked like they had rusted in a drawer for centuries, but they were well-greased.
Mare moved around in the kitchen, trying to find the blue cup that her sister had talked about. Her magic was orange, bright yellow, with a hint of a sick yellow colour, having cups move around in the room. She stood by the sink as a face appeared by the door.
“Hey, Hope– oh, there you are.”
The girl was a younger witch who Mare remembered was being taught dark magic by Hope. Her face lit up, but as she stepped into the potion room, she stopped.
“You are not Hope…”
“No, sorry Leontina, it’s Mare.”
The young witch stared at Hope’s body, who’s eyes were glowing pink.
“Why are you here, in Hope’s body?”
“Erm…” Mare walked back to the pot, “I needed her help so we are co-hosting at the moment.” The potion had not turned red yet. “Can I help you with something?”
“No I was just… when is she coming back?”
Mare stared out through the window.
“Hey, are you done anytime soon?”
“Cut by my pinky and then by the wrist– what?”
“I have Leontina here, she is wondering when you are back.”
Hope raised her eyebrows. “Tell her to wait in the living room.”
Mare turned back to the young witch. “She said you can wait in the living room.”
The young witch nodded and disappeared away, but soon her head peaked back through the door again.
“Erm, cool to see you. The head witches keep talking about when you will come back.”
Mare gave away a smile. “Tell them that I will be home before the next red moon.”
Leontina’s face lit up.
“Ok!” and with that she was gone.
Mare looked into the kettle. Still not red. She moved around the sink, finding a small container that was blue. The liquid was brown and smelled very bad.
“The blue cup, is the substance brown and smells really bad?”
“Yes, that’s the one,” Hope said back. She was having her left fist clenched together, holding loose threads together while she still had Ji-Hae cutting the remaining from her fingers. Suddenly it pulled in her wrist.
“Ah, fuck–” she looked at Ji-Hae, who got big eyes at her cussing. Then Hope’s eyes got big as well.
“Hold on, I have something…” She twisted her hand as the blue, now almost turquoise, magic started to pulse, living its own life. Sparks flew over the scene while the witch under started to twist, moving in pain. Hope’s face became more concentrated. Ji-Hae glanced down at Su-Min, hearing her groaning as she rolled around. Slowly out of nowhere, a black mass appeared, moving wildly as Hope clutched her hand together to keep it contained.
“Cut it!” Hope shouted and Ji-Hae didn’t know where, so he just did like he had before, right under it. The mass bursted out and up towards the ceiling. Hope was quick and got up on her feet, grabbing it with her magic. She pulled it together until it was nothing but the size of a tennis ball.
“Open the door!”
Mare heard her sister. “No, not the door! Take the window!”
“Never mind, the window!” Hope commanded.
Min-a, who was standing by the hall, quickly ran over the floor and up on the nearest chair, opening the window just in time to have Hope push the dark materia out. It flew past Min-a, who turned away her face. It hit the house facade opposite the alley and splashed, becoming nothing but dust on the ground, lingering in the air before it was gone. Min-a closed the window before anything else could get in or out. Hope quickly sat down beside Ji-Hae and leaned over, looking down the hole that Ji-Hae didn’t see, having the clamp sit half in the air around blue-ish magical strings and lines.
“Almost there…” Hope said tiredly. She still had her left hand in a fist and the right one once again became tense. It seemed like she was pulling out things. For a moment she closed her eyes, searching for something that she could only see with her inner eye.
“Ah, it’s red,” she could hear Mare say.
“The blue cup, 15 min.”
“Yes I know.”
The room became quiet again. Hope opened her eyes.
“I found it.”
She threw up the threads she had earlier in her hand and used her magic to weave them together. They floated over the head of the witch while Hope looked over at Ji-Hae.
“You can take away the clamp.”
Ji-Hae did as told while Hope used both her hands to pull something up. Soon the blue, purple magic around them changed, and the hole slowly changed into a replica of the witch lying on the floor. Hope breathed heavily as she looked at the blue person in front of her. She grabbed the string that was floating in the air, wrapped it around the wrist of the witch, before tying it.
“What’s that?” Ji-Hae asked.
“It’s her thread of fate, which I now re-wove, because she’s not dying anymore.”
Hope stood up on her knees and slowly let the blue replica sink into the body of the witch below. Ji-Hae could see how the witch was breathing much more deeply now. Min-a got down beside her.
“Su-Min!” She placed a hand, stroking over the witch’s hair.
Hope sank down on the floor, as she closed her eyes.
“Mare, I’m done.”
Suddenly she was back in the white room, turning her head, seeing Mare standing by the kettle.
“She lives?”
“She’s alive.”
Hope heard Mare’s steps, stopping right beside her. She saw her sister and her hand stretched out towards her. Hope grabbed it, feeling her powers coming back when she felt the presence of her sister.
“Thank you,” Mare said. Hope just grabbed and hugged her.
“You know that you are an idiot, right?”
Mare chuckled, hugging her back.
“I care too much for others than myself. I care for you.”
“And that makes you an idiot.”
Mare pulled away, looking at a face that was like one she saw in the mirror every morning.
“I will be back before the red moon. You can do it.”
An echoing ringing suddenly broke the silence. Hope got big eyes.
“Fuck, this potion…” she mumbled, walking past Mare. When she was almost by the kettle, she shouted over her shoulder.
“Don’t die!”
“I won't!” Mare shouted back, before she got down on the floor, staring up at the white ceiling. She closed her eyes and she was back in Korea, lying on the wooden floor in her apartment.
“Mare?” Ji-Hae was leaning over her. Mare took a moment to get back into herself again. She looked at Ji-Hae.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
She got up, but felt how the world was spinning. She wasn’t totally back in her body. She rested on her knees while Ji-hae held out his arms in front of her.
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah, just… getting back into myself.”
Min-a was holding the witch’s head in her hands, her eyes closed while humming to herself. Mare turned around.
“So?” she asked.
“I can feel her, but she needs medical help,” Min-a said.
A loud explosion was heard outside, as it made all three of them take cover from the particles that fell from the ceiling.
“What are they doing out there?” Ji-Hae asked out loud.
“We need to get her back to the–”
But Min-a didn’t get to finish before the door bursted open, falling down in the hall as dust and light from the outside rolled in. Both witches got up, Mare holding her wand, and Min-a her stick with jingle bells. The opening revealed a figure, face hidden by the strong light.
“I must say, Miss La Russi, you are good at protection spells.”
The voice was familiar, which made both Mare and Min-a exhale. The leader of the Sae-boek tribe stepped in, walking over the door. On her porch Mare could see two witches, holding lookout, while the fight was still in full motion. They had arrived. Better late than never, Mare thought. The leader approached her, and she greeted her.
“Where is she?”
Mare pointed down on their patient, while Min-a greeted her leader. The leader, who was in her late 40’s, having grey streaks in her hair, tightly placed in a bun, decorated with a binyeo, got down beside the witch when she saw her. Ji-Hae just moved over the floor away from the body, hoping no one would see him.
“We don’t have much time, let’s get her out.”
Both witches nodded. While Min-a attended Su-Min, Mare got up beside Ji-Hae, holding out a hand. Ji-Hae was very confused and would rather stay there, in Mare’s apartment which seemed to have managed to go through hell.
“Please Ji-Hae, one more time. I need you.”
Ji-Hae looked down on her hand, as he breathed heavily.
“Why me?”
“Because you are not a witch,” the leader said, “there is a grand fight happening out there and taking one or two of my women to escort this witch back to our village will perhaps cause more witches to get hurt. We need all the power we can out there, and you are just a human, one that will go unnoticed.”
She spoke so freely to him, as if she already knew him. The leader looked at Mare.
“I hope you will do something about this later.”
Mare nodded. “I will.”
She turned to Ji-Hae, as she gave him a pleading look.
“Please, help me out. Let’s bring this cat home.”
The comment made it move in him, as if he had gotten an electric shock. He and Mare had eye contact, before he looked at her hand, feeling the urge and love to save this cat, even if he knew it wasn’t a cat. He grabbed her hand. She pulled him up. She gave her a comforting smile.
“Ok, we will have Ji-Hae carry the cage,” Mare started, looking out over the room. She got down beside the witch on the floor, transforming her back into a cat.
“This will be the safest way. I will be covering Ji-Hae, while Min-a gets the portal open.”
The leader took a look at them in order; first Mare, then Min-a and Ji-Hae. Lastly she looked at the cat which was now sleeping in Mare’s arms. Mare could see that the leader was considering it, before she said,
“Only if you tell me later why you have the whole Cho-seung-dal tribe after you.”
A smile appeared on Mare as she nodded, asking Ji-Hae to hand over the cage.
“You have to give me an opening though.”
The leader gave her a smirk.
“That I can do.”
So there Mare was, holding Ji-Hae’s hand and having Min-a stand opposite her in the hall. Colours were flashing over their faces as Min-a was waiting for the signal. They were too tired; Ji-Hae’s head was hurting, Mare had gotten help with bandaging her arm and Min-a’s hair was losing its elegant touch. They all looked like they came from an apocalyptic movie, but from three different movies.
“I’m not so sure about this.” It was Ji-Hae.
“You just have to carry the cage, like you did before,” Mare answered back.
“I just… I don’t understand,” Ji-Hae said. “What are you, really? You are mudangs, or witches… but… what do you do?”
Min-a and Mare looked at one another, as Min-a said,
“We protect the things that you guys don’t.” She tilted her head, “Then we also talk to your dead relatives and hold longer rituals, but that is like… sometimes, and not all of us do it. You seem to like to go to those who just fake it.”
Ji-Hae wasn’t a victim of paying money to someone who would tell him his future, but he knew many who did, who would use the shamans as reason, rather than using their own.
“And… what do you do Mare, in Italy?”
Mare held up her wand as she smiled.
“I fight evil, of any kind.”
Ji-Hae looked at the wand, as he inhaled, pointing.
“I don’t understand. You have a wand that you use, but then you… can use your hands as well?”
Mare moved her wand in the air.
“So in Italy, every witch, or wizard, is born with magical powers. There are groups that are non-gifted who do witchcraft, but it’s not the same thing. You can only get your magical powers from your mom if she’s a witch.”
“But if you can use your inherited magic, why do you have a wand?”
Mare paused for a moment. “It’s a bit like playing tennis. You can play tennis with your hands, but it gets hard eventually. Our wands work like a racket, we use them to extend our magic, and use it as a tool to exercise more complicated magic. Then of course, depending on how big or small the ball is, the wand can sometimes be a bit clunky, so then we use our hands. It’s all about using the right tool for right situatio–”
A loud noise filled the air, as the alley was filled with thick smoke.
“That’s it! Let’s go!”
Min-a was first out, then Ji-Hae followed and lastly Mare, who quickly turned and used her wand to fix her door back into place. They rounded the corner and entered the smoke, running up the alley. Min-a was leading, following the wall as they passed two witches from the tribe, moving the smoke so they would be able to see where they were running. Mare turned around and blocked spells that came flying through the smoke, pushing Ji-Hae up the road. Ji-Hae had come to the conclusion that looking back was not a good idea, so he just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Soon the house beside them ended and opened up to a crossing, exiting the smoke.
“Which way?” Min-a asked loudly. “I need dirt!”
“Up!” Mare shouted back and so they moved. Another road uphill. Ji-Hae felt it in his legs, and the cage wasn’t that light either. By the next crossing he was breathing heavily, and so did Mare behind him. She was swinging her wand as she was fighting off a few witches that they hadn’t been able to confuse away with the smoke.
“Hate this urban city…” Min-a mumbled while she rushed down the road and the company followed. Mare blocked a spell that sparked brightly before she turned her head, seeing something behind the high walls that protected people’s properties.
“Min-a, over there.”
Min-a stopped and she saw the green lawn past the metal gate.
“That will do!”
Mare made one of the witches who was attacking them from afar fly over the ground as she then turned and casted a spell, hitting the gate, which made it open with a rustle. Min-a pushed it open as Ji-Hae followed. The barking of a dog could be heard. Ji-Hae turned and saw a small chiwawa bark at them through the thick glass that faced the front of the house. He gave it a small wave and mumbled, “Sorry.” Min-a was already in motion, humming to herself as she was standing in the flowerbed right by the door. Soon the wind swirled around her and the ground slowly opened up into a hole, disappearing into the dark unknown.
Mare was standing at the gate, flicking her wand to fight off a witch that was standing on the other side of the alley and had taken shelter behind a pillar. Ji-Hae walked over and looked down at the hole.
“Ok Mare, let’s go!” Min-a shouted.
“What?” Ji-Hae asked with big eyes.
Mare created a distraction and rushed over to the flowerbed. Min-a gave both of them a last look before she jumped into the hole. Ji-Hae gasped as he watched her get swallowed by the ground.
“Jump Ji-Hae!”
“What?”
“Jump into the hole.”
Ji-Hae got a nervous face as he felt how his stomach started to turn itself around. Mare got up beside him and grabbed his hand.
“Hold on tight to the cage.”
And with that she pulled him along, jumping into the hole, joining the darkness. The butterflies moved in Ji-Hae’s stomach as they fell past roots, dirt and worms peeking out. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t. All he did was to close his eyes and squeeze Mare’s hand really tight. He couldn’t tell how long they fell, but soon he felt ground under his feet. It was like they landed lightly, as if the ground just had suddenly appeared under them.
“It’s ok Ji-Hae, you can open your eyes now.”
Ji-Hae slowly opened his eyes, just as the darkness fled back into the shadows and the dirt around them opened up to a forest. He saw how Min-a stepped out, having Mare follow her. Ji-Hae squinted his eyes for the light while he quickly stepped out, not wanting to be buried alive. He took a few steps, before turning around, seeing that they had exited from a tree; a thick body that had slit open into the darkness. He was just about to say something when it closed itself, falling into silence as if it had never been split open and spit out three humans. In the haste of trying to explain it all away in his brain, Ji-Hae turned and followed the two witches. It was after all the safest option.
It didn’t take long until houses, traditional korean ones with low roofs and spacious farmyards faced the main road. It was like walking into a historical drama, the ones that his moms watched every Friday evening. The trees casted shadows over the road, as women, dressed in hanboks and modern clothing, passed them while the smell of herbs and food filled the air. Smoke rose up to the sky as they rounded a low stone wall. Past it Ji-Hae could see girls, not older than 16, sitting and chatting on the porch to the house. One was using her magic to have colourful papers float in the air, as the other threaded a string through them. He heard Min-a greet a girl who passed them while the road declined. When they came to the end, Min-a stopped and turned to her company. Behind her Ji-Hae could see a market, stretching as far as his eye could see.
“The doctor is waiting.”
Mare walked in first past the wooden gate. Ji-Hae lingered for a moment, looking at Min-a, before following Mare. They walked over the courtyard and up beside the porch, as they all took off their shoes. Just as Ji-Hae had managed to get off his, a person appeared by the door, which was not much more than fabric hanging over the opening. The lady appearing was dressed in light colours with a white apron.
“Oh you are here!” she exclaimed as she got down, paying her attention down on the cage that Ji-Hae momentarily had placed down on the porch. Without hesitation she opened the cage and pulled out the cat, holding it dearly in her arms. She turned to Mare, as she bowed deeply.
“I don’t know how we should thank you. You have saved our tribe.”
Mare moved her hands in a dismissing way as her face turned pink.
“Oh no, please, I would have done it for anyone.”
Ji-Hae got up on the porch and stood silently beside Min-a. They met eyes as Min-a gave him a smile. Her hair moved in the air as the metal decorations hanging from the roof made sounds in the wind. For a moment Ji-Hae’s heart slowed down, and he for once didn’t feel like he wanted to ask a million questions or run away.
The doctor, Mare and Min-a exchanged a few words before Min-a followed the doctor into the house and Ji-Hae with Mare sat down on the porch. Ji-Hae rested his head on his arm as he studied Mare who sank down like a bag of potatoes against one of the pillars. Soon they were given food; a table of all sorts of things that made it water in Ji-Hae’s mouth. He was starving. He and Mare sat in silence opposite each other as they picked from the bowls.
“What’s that?” Mare asked as she pointed with her spoon on soft sticks that were covered in a red sauce.
“It’s tteokbokki. Rice cakes with a spicy sauce.”
Mare thought that sounded good and decided to try. Silence fell over them, until Ji-Hae asked,
“So… what happens now?”
Mare chewed as she looked out towards the road. “I don’t know. We go our separate ways. They will wipe your memory and you will live your life as if this never happened.”
Ji-Hae stopped eating, his mouth full with rice.
“Do you think they will really do that?”
Min-a came out from the house and sat down beside them. Ji-Hae tried to give her a pair of chopsticks but she refused.
“I will eat later,” she said, “enjoy, you must be dead inside.”
Yeah, something like that was how Ji-Hae felt.
“So, what will they do?” Mare asked.
“Well… he saved our only scientist. You guys are heroes. Would be a bit disrespectful to just wipe that away.”
“Well, how considerate of you,” Mare started, “some of the older witches in my tribe have no problem doing that, no matter the context.” She moved the spoon in the air. “You could be saving their grandchildren and they will be like, ‘Sorry, not sorry’.”
Min-a gave away a laugh. “We have more respect towards each other here than in Italy.”
“Well, we are just…” Mare tried to justify it, “It's just… we have more of that activity than you have here.”
Min-a tried to understand what Mare meant, but decided to ask about it another time.
“But what? You will give him a gold throne or…?” Mare asked.
“Hmm…” Min-a rested her hands in her lap as she looked up into the sky. “I think for sure that they will offer you our protection.” She gave Ji-Hae a face as if she tried to sell him something. “Having witches on your side has its advantages.”
***
Ji-Hae’s phone had been vibrating back and forth, messages from his job and his mothers. But deep inside he couldn’t care. He was tired. He had met witches. He had rescued a cat who was actually a human. He had almost gotten killed. He had seen two sisters switch bodies. He had experienced necromancy. He had teleported through a hole in the ground. All in one day.
“I’m sorry,” he heard Mare say as they were laying on the porch, listening to Min-a and the doctor do their magic inside the house. The sun was going down, as it bathed the village in gold.
“Why are you? I was the one who came to you in the park,” he said back. “I was the one who confronted you in the store. I have myself to blame.”
“Well, it all could have been prevented if I hadn’t caused the accident in the first place.” She turned her head to look at him. “That I’m sorry about.”
“Well, didn’t cost me much more than an experience.”
“I suppose the same goes for all this?”
Ji-Hae looked up at the pink clouds that floated above them.
“Yes, I suppose it does.”
Silence fell over them, as Ji-Hae eventually said,
“I don’t… want to forget it.”
“It?”
“This. It…” he sighed, “it was a disaster between the first and second time I met you. I told myself that I wanted to forget it all when I was sitting in your apartment and watching your sister work through your body and have a full on war happen outside. But then you and Min-a pulled me out of there and I thought… you know, there was hope somewhere, even if I hated that rabbit hole thing we did.”
He turned his head to look at her, and they met eyes.
“You don’t know how hard it can be, to live,” he started, “You Italians seem so… carefree and you don’t care about what others think of you and it seems like life isn’t restraining you to do what you want. I, on the other hand, have duties as an older brother, I have to get a job, I have two mothers, and most of the time I have to act as if one of them is not my mom because my world won't accept that two women can love each other and have a family. I spend more time at school than at home and it makes me sick to my stomach sometimes. And this place is… neither. Nothing. Not even close.” He gave away a chuckle. “It feels like I’m in a movie. And… to be honest, I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to forget it.”
Mare turned so she was lying on her side as she listened to him.
“I feel… quite home here.” That was his conclusion. Mare got a smile on her face as she gave him a nudge.
“Hey, I think they would love to have you here. I mean, you are a vet student. Everyone needs a vet. These people, I promise you, need a vet.” She adjusted her glasses as she gave him a smile.
“And if they kick you out, you will always have me. I will fight them until they beg for mercy and let you live here.”
Ji-Hae blinked. “For real? Beg for mercy?”
“Ok, maybe not, but you get the point.” She rolled around back on her back as she stared up into the sky.
“You are needed, Ji-Hae. Someone out there sees you. And if there is no one, then I see you.” She gave him a last look.
“Welcome to the world of the witches.”
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