To say that Jung Wheein was pissed would be an understatement. If she were a comic character, you would’ve seen steam coming off her ears, but since she wasn’t one, you’d only see her lips forming a big frown and her face displaying an awful scowl.

 

And of course, the source of her anger this time, was no other than her co-worker who, by the way, was also the source of her anger the previous day, two days ago, last week, and… other countless times.

 

“Cut her some slack, .” Their manager had warned her co-worker, in which the latter replied with a silly little grin, obviously not listening.

 

“Next time, don’t hire a seven-year-old, unnie.” Wheein bitterly hissed at her manager, yet she was glaring daggers at Byulyi.

 

Yeah, by the way, that was her annoying co-worker’s name.

 

Moon Byulyi.

 

A 162.8 cm tall of nothing but silly pranks, annoying shenanigans, and inability to keep her goddamn mouth shut for her own good.

 

“What’s up? This little Wheein can’t reach the top of the cabinet, huh? Allow this taller unnie help you then!” Byulyi had said last week. And as if the comment wasn’t annoying enough – she wasn’t even that tall?? – instead of helping like that the latter had claimed, Byulyi chose to put back the pan Wheein had been struggling for the past ten minutes to reach to a higher shelf. That successfully made Byulyi earn a hard smack on her shoulder, but Byulyi would only laugh and run off, leaving Wheein with gritting teeth and curled up fist.

The other day, Byulyi had told an embarrassing story to a customer who waited for his order about how Wheein, on her first week of working, had been tasked to clean the floor. So, she did exactly like what she was told and reminded the customers of the slippery floor, only to have her own self trip over and fall down -first on the floor right after. The incident successfully got about half of the visiting customers laughing that day, and Wheein had to stop herself from punching Byulyi that day for telling the story out loud.

 

“I was just being a good employee and entertained the customer. He seemed bored,” was Byulyi’s excuse when Wheein confronted her.

 

And today, Byulyi decided that a new way to annoy Jung Wheein was to mess with her stuffs. So, that afternoon, Wheein spent more than half an hour frantically looking for her phone. She was about to cry until another co-worker of her took a pity on her and told that she had seen Byulyi hiding it on the top shelf, exactly the place where she had put the pan last week.

 

Byulyi, of course, wouldn’t admit it and just laughed. But Wheein wouldn’t just let it go. Not this time.

 

“Can you like, for once, stop messing with me? You’re such a pain in the !” Wheein had hissed at Byulyi in the janitor room.

 

“Oh, chill, Jung Wheein. It was just a pho-”

 

Byulyi’s grin vanished as her words got cut midway, too shocked to react when her cheek was slapped by Wheein.

 

And Wheein, on the other hand, was just as surprised with her sudden impulse. Her palm was red and slightly throbbing. She must’ve hit Byulyi that hard.

 

“It was just a phone, it was just a joke, it was just this, it was just that. You never took anything seriously, did you? You never think I’m angry at you for real, do you? Is that why you keep making fun of me? Underestimating me? You- Do you ever take me seriously, Byulyi? Do you?!”

 

Wheein’s tone got higher and higher, and when she finally stopped, her chest heaved up and down, face red with anger. Byulyi, who was still too in dazed, was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. But before she was able to react, Wheein had stormed off from the janitor room towards her locker.

 

Maybe it was the fact that Wheein had had enough of Byulyi making fun of her since her first day at work, which was almost a year ago. Her manager had suggested her to stand up against Byulyi, which she always did. But Byulyi never took it seriously - she probably would never take anything seriously if it involved Wheein, and Wheein had enough of it.

 

Or maybe it was the fact that Wheein despised people messing up with her stuffs, especially with her phone. Especially her phone. And not because she had text messages or selfies she wanted to hide, no. Iit was the fact that it was not just a phone for her.

 

It was a device where she stored her magic, the device that kept her connected to the wizarding world.

 

Oh, right… I haven’t told you. Our protagonist was not an ordinary human.

 

She was, well, a witch.

 

Not the green-skinned old woman kind of witch you’d see as a villain in fairy tales, and not a Hogwarts student, either. She was a descendant of an ancient wizarding bloodline, those who were hunted down for centuries, those who were left in the wizarding civilization in today’s world.

 

And she had seen too many deaths during her immortal life. Way too many, which was why she and the rest of the witches and wizards she knew decided it was best for them to part ways to hide their true identity. Living together would be too dangerous for their own existence. A leader had suggested to store their magic in an item so it wouldn’t get accidentally misused, and it would trick the witch hunters should they get caught. Wheein had lived almost twenty five years that way, and she had been safe.

 

She wouldn’t let a silly prank from her annoying co-worker ruined that.

 

Never.

 

And that was exactly why that night, she spent hours plotting the perfect revenge in her head, completely oblivious of the existence of another living being who apparently wasn’t quite fond of being ignored.

 

“Oy, earth to Jung Wheein!” Wheein could feel a very tiny smack on her cheek.

 

“Huh? What is it, Kkomo?” Wheein’s thoughts were cut, and she protested with a pout.

 

“What’s the ignoring for?” Kkomo, a well… a cat, a magical one I dare say because he possessed immortality and ability to talk with humans (and witches, in this case), replied back.

 

“Say, Kkomo, what’s the worst thing you could do to an enemy for a revenge?”

 

Kkomo answered in a heartbeat, “murder.”

 

Wheein winced.

 

“Maybe something that is… legal?”

 

This time, the young feline took his time to think.

 

“Destroy something they love? Like, if your enemy’s an artist, destroy their sketchbooks.”

 

Wheein was about to protest about how cruel and inhumane that was, but on a second thought, that might be the answer she was looking for.

 

She remembered three months ago, Byulyi had her co-workers surrounding her, queuing in a line to take turns getting themselves photographed as Byulyi bragged about her newly-found talent and brand new Nikon DSLR camera. She brought her camera every day ever since, hissing at anyone who showed any intention to touch it and referred to the black box as her baby.

 

Photography. That was what Byulyi loved most. And Wheein would destroy it, slowly but surely. She could start with Byulyi’s deteriorating skills in taking pictures, broken cameras, maybe people dissing her works. Oh, Wheein would especially enjoy the last part, seeing how the cocky Moon Byulyi would wither in embarrassment.

 

“That’s perfect! Thank you!” Wheein squeezed the cat, successfully earning a displeased meow from the latter, before the witch eventually let go and started scrolling through her phone.

 

“Woah, who are you about to curse?” Kkomo asked, once he was in a safe distance from Wheein’s touch. The Wheein she knew was a soft-hearted, sometimes-too-naive girl. Wheein had lived longer than anybody she knew, and no one could get how the girl could still be so kind. So, hearing about the words “enemy”, “revenge”, and “destroy” all at once made the cat slightly worried. She was his human (well, witch) after all.

 

“Whom do you think I hate the most?” Wheein rolled her eyes, scrolling through her spell notes. She memorized most of them, but she never pulled on a curse spell on anyone. This would be her first during her hundreds of years of life.

 

“Your co-worker? That Byulyi girl??”

 

Of course, Kkomo knew. Moon Byulyi was the only name Wheein could spit out with such hatred. Almost every day, Kkomo would listen to Wheein complaining right after she arrived at home from work. Byulyi this, Byulyi that. The cat secretly thought that’d be a big fat chance that his human would eventually fall for Moon Byulyi, given how Byulyi had practically filled Wheein’s thoughts 24/7, but now that Wheein told him that she’d put a curse on Byulyi, maybe some hatred wouldn’t bloom to love after all.

 

So, past midnight, when Kkomo had softly purred in his sleep, Wheein performed her ritual. Which was not much, by the way. No pentagram, goat’s head, or blood of a firstborn involved. Just a scented candle to enhance Wheein’s concentration, and the witch closing her eyes, chanting the spells in low murmur.

 

When the flame in the candle was put off by itself, Wheein fluttered her eyes opened, and a triumphant smile was displayed on her lips.

 

---

 

The next day, Wheein skipped herself to work, excited to see what happened to Byulyi’s camera. She purposefully arrived earlier than her shift and her manager raised her eyebrows in wonder.

 

“So excited today, eh? I don’t recall you ever being this happy, especially when you have the same shift with Byulyi.”

 

Everyone in her workplace knew about Byulyi and Wheein, about how Byulyi was always playful, but had always been especially playful when it came to Wheein. And they always sided with Wheein, but apparently that was not enough to stop Byulyi.

 

“Hmm? Nothing, boss. I just think today’s a good day.” Wheein answered with a grin. It indeed would be a good day.

 

When Byulyi arrived for her shift with her camera bag slung over her shoulder, both Wheein and her manager turned their heads in unison.

 

“Oho, look who’s early!” Byulyi greeted with her grin - oh, how Wheein couldn’t wait to see that grin faltering upon her own eyes.

 

“Still with that stupid camera, I see?” Wheein threw out a banter, eyes glancing to Byulyi’s camera bag.

 

“Now, now, you wouldn’t say stupid if you see what I can do with this baby.” Byulyi refuted, ping the bag and took the camera out. Wheein’s heart beat fast. This was her first magic she did after god-knows how many years, not to mention her very first experience in putting a curse on someone. This was a big moment for her.

 

Yet, to her dismay, Byulyi successfully turned her camera on, pointed it at Wheein, and snapped a picture. Worse, when she showed the result to Wheein, the result turned out perfectly fine.

 

“See? Even with that ugly face of yours, I can still make you look like a supermodel.”

 

Wheein gritted her teeth and stomped her way towards the kitchen.

 

That was weird.

 

Was the effect delayed? No, that couldn’t be. Her spell should take immediate effect by now. Then, why hadn’t it worked? Did she failed? But-

 

Just right then, Wheein felt a sharp pang on her head. It was so sudden and painful that she let out a groan.

 

“Huh? What’s up, hobbit? You alright?”

 

Wheein hadn’t noticed Byulyi making her way into the kitchen, and when she was about to protest at how Byulyi had called her ‘hobbit’, the headache struck again, harder this time, and Wheein out.

 

---

 

Two hours had passed until Wheein eventually regained her consciousness. The first thing she noticed was the white wall and a strong scent of medicines. She was at a hospital. The next thing she noticed, however, was a little bit unexpected. It was her annoying co-worker, at the right side of the hospital bed, looking worried sick.

 

“Oh, you’re awake! I’ll call the doctor.” Byulyi said, a little bit too urgent, as she quickly pressed the emergency button above Wheein’s bed. Just when Wheein was about to open to ask questions, a doctor and a nurse rushed in.

 

The stethoscope felt cold against her chest and Wheein eventually croaked out her question.

 

“What happened?”

 

“That’s exactly what we have to ask you, young lady.” The doctor, a young man in his mid 30’s, asked back, after pulling his stethoscope away.

 

“Do you remember anything?”

 

Wheein nodded. “Yeah, I was working when there was a sudden, terrible headache. Then, the next thing I know, I’m here.” She glanced at Byulyi, who immediately tore her gaze off Wheein and looked at the doctor.

 

“We can’t find anything wrong in you. Your blood pressure’s fine, no sign of concussion either, you’re well-hydrated, but your blackout lasted for two hours, which was… considerably long.” The doctor explained. “So, maybe it was just stress.”

 

Stress? Was she stressing over her spell? Ah, right, the spell. She hadn’t practiced it in ages. That was probably why. It must’ve drained her, causing her to lose consciousness.

 

Another thing bothered her mind, though. She once more glanced at Byulyi, who was still avoiding her gaze. What was Byulyi so worried for? Was she there, the entire time, waiting for her to wake up?

 

‘Probably because she was the one who saw me fainting,’ Wheein tried to reason.

 

“I’ll take you home.” Byulyi announced, right after they got the prescribed medicines. Wheein blinked.

 

“Sorry, what?”

 

“I’ll take you home.” Byulyi said again. No hint of playfulness in her voice. Heck, she wasn’t even flaunting her silly little grin at Wheein.

 

“O...kay.” Wheein eventually answered, unsure of what else to say.

 

The ride back home was awkward. Very awkward. Maybe it was because Wheein never went home with Byulyi, despite having their places only fifteen minutes away from each other. Or maybe it was the fact that Wheein had never been in this proximity with Byulyi without any argument or fight.

 

“Right, thanks.” Wheein mumbled as she took the small bag of medicines from Byulyi, couldn’t wait to sprint to her room because she couldn’t stand the awkwardness.

 

Byulyi opened , and for once, Wheein had hoped to hear a mockery, heck she’d even be grateful if Byulyi threw a joke about her height by now.

 

But instead of the usual insult, Byulyi just calmly said a “get well soon” and blasted off in her motorbike afterwards.

 

That left Wheein sitting down on her bed, thinking, or good fifteen minutes. Did her annoying co-worker just somehow show her that she actually cared for Wheein? The witch quickly shook her head, ridding herself of the thought. She out for two hours, anyone would be worried. Even if it was her own enemy… Right?

 

Wheein then gave up and heaved a sigh as she threw herself down on her bed. She better got some rest and apologize to her manager tomorrow.

 

---

 

“Wheein-ah, I told you, you don’t need to be sorry about it. Are you sure you’ve recovered? You can always take some days to rest, you know.” Her manager said the next day, when Wheein showed up and brought her a cup of tteokbokki as a token of apology. The latter had told her subordinate not to apologize, but she received the tteokbokki and immediately chewed on it nonetheless.

 

“I’m fine, unnie! Don’t worry.” Wheein grinned. Her manager had once more told her to take better care of her health, something about drinking more water and eating more nutritious food - which was ironic because they worked for a fast food chain restaurant - but Wheein didn’t bother to respond, because she had her attention somewhere else.

 

And it was the fact that Moon Byulyi was nowhere to find.

 

‘Huh? Why would I even bother?’ Wheein quickly dismissed her thoughts. Last night was weird, but maybe it was just one night. Byulyi had bothered Wheein for a year, and the fact that she was being kind for a few hours shouldn’t change anything. Her co-worker was probably crying over her broken camera by now. Yeah, that sounded about right.

 

But when the next day Byulyi didn’t show up, and neither did she the next two days, and for the rest of the week, Wheein couldn’t help but to ask her manager.

 

“Oh, Byulyi?” She cleared , somewhat looking nervous.

 

“She… asked to be put in the different shifts with yours.”

 

Wheein couldn’t help but frowned. “Why?”

 

“Remember last week when you fainted? Byulyi told me the doctor said it was due to stress, and… well, that dumb kid insisted that she was the cause of your stress.”

 

Wheein’s jaw dropped. Byulyi thought of that?

 

And Wheein couldn’t really deny it. Byulyi had been the source of her anger for almost a year, so she should be glad that she was eventually free from her bothersome co-worker, right?

 

‘Right!’ She tried to convince herself. Yet, she couldn’t completely ignore the fact that it felt a little lonely without Byulyi’s shenanigans and annoying laugh. It felt weird having a week off from Byulyi’s pranks.

 

“Alright then, unnie, I’ll go back to w-”

 

.

 

Just right then, the headache struck again, much more painful this time, that Wheein had to grip on the counter to support herself up.

 

“Wheein? You okay?” Her manager held her shoulder, concern’s drawn all over her face.

 

“Yeah, I’m f-”

 

And she out again.

 

---

 

Muffled voices.

 

Wheein tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy and everything was blurry. She closed them again.

 

More voices. A bit clearer this time.

 

“...Rare medical condition…...like this before…..I’m afraid…”

 

Some blurry faces. Her head was throbbing. It hurt so bad.

 

What happened to her? She tried to open her eyes again, but she couldn’t. Her head hurt too much. She out again.

 

---

 

When Wheein eventually woke up, it felt like forever. The throbbing in her head had subdued, but it felt like there was a lump in and it hurt whenever she swallowed.

 

“How are you feeling now?” Her manager had asked after the doctor did a brief check-up on Wheein. Byulyi was there too, sitting on the couch, yet she was muted. She didn’t even look at Wheein, only sparing a or two glances during the check-up.

 

“I’m fine, unnie. You don’t have to be worried.” Wheein forced a weak smile. She wasn’t feeling very fine, but she didn’t want to make her manager more worried than she already was.

 

“How can I not?? This is the second time you fainted in a span of one week, Wheein. Also, the doctor said-” her manager suddenly stopped short.

 

“What did the doctor say?” Wheein asked. Her manager didn’t answer and instead, glanced nervously at Byulyi.

 

“Unnie, what did the doctor say??” Wheein asked again, much more urgent this time.

 

“That your illness is a rare medical condition.” Byulyi was the one who answered. She then stood up and made her way to Wheein’s side. “That they never saw anything like this before. That your brain cells are… very slowly but surely destroying themselves somehow.”

 

The way Byulyi said it was oddly calm. The facts she just spurted out was horrible, but she made it sound like as if she wanted to tell Wheein that it’s okay. That everything was going to be okay.

 

And Wheein knew she was supposed to be okay.

 

These humans around her knew no , but she was an immortal witch. No human disease could ever bring her down. Hell, she never had anything worse than a cold (which was thanks to climate change and its unsettling weathers, by the way, great job humans). So, what was this? What could possibly hap-

 

Oh.

 

“Excuse me, but I think I need to be alone for a while.” Wheein announced after clearing .

 

“Oh, Wheein-ah…” Her manager looked like she was in a verge of tears.

 

“Unnie, I’m fine. I just… need some time by myself. Okay?”

 

“Oh, also!” Wheein quickly added before the two left the room. “Um… Can I ask for your help to bring me a candle?”

 

Byulyi raised her eyebrows. “A candle?”

 

“Yeah! Uh… A… scented one? They help me relax.” The witch quickly added. Thanks to her quick wit, her co-worker and her manager didn’t question further and Byulyi went back thirty minutes later with various scented candles.

 

“I don’t know which scent you like, so…” She shrugged.

 

“Oh, it’s fine. Thanks!” Wheein smiled. Byulyi threw a faint smile in return. It still felt weird having Byulyi being kind with her like this. It was so out of character, so not like Byulyi. But maybe Byulyi still had conscience and she only wanted to do good to a dying girl.

 

“If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”

 

Wheein nodded once more and mumbled another thanks. Once Byulyi went out and the door was closed, Wheein quickly sat up.

 

“Operium,” Wheein mumbled under her breath, successfully clouding the CCTV camera at the upper corner of the ceiling before she eventually lit up the candle and started her ritual.

 

Her first plan was of course to heal her own self. Which immediately failed. Something Wheein had somehow expected before.

 

The witch was sure that the only logical reason of her current condition - the rare medical case and unhealed illness - was because there was a spell casted on her. A curse spell. And she had to find whoever the witch or wizard responsible for it.

 

She didn’t have any enemy, that was for sure. Her only enemy was Byulyi, her annoying co-worker who somehow had turned kind. But Byulyi was a mere mortal.

 

… RIght?

 

Or, did Byulyi hide a secret she did not know?

 

Wheein stared blankly at the stream of colors in front of her. She had casted a spell to locate the source of her curse. The colors slowly formed a clearer image. An image of a building.

 

Wheein couldn’t hold her gasp.

 

The scented candle was put off by itself, leaving a hint of citrus hanging in the air, as the image evaporated away in a puff.

 

The image Wheein just saw was the picture of the hospital she was currently at.

 

‘The suspect is at close proximity…’ Wheein chewed down on her lower lip, wondering who it could be and what she should do next. Should she just try to reveal the witch’s identity? But doing so would require much more energy, something she’s worried she didn’t currently have due to her physical condition.

 

But maybe she should try.

 

So she did. However, when she was just lighting up the candle, the headache struck her again. Once. Twice. Thrice.

 

She must’ve pressed the emergency button. Or she must’ve screamed. She no longer knew, but she could see Byulyi rushing in frantically, asking her what’s wrong, before everything faded away.

 

---

 

When Wheein woke up again, it was dark. She waited for a while until her eyes could adjust to the darkness, but nothing happened.

 

“Caligaea,” she muttered under her breath.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Which was weird, because the spell was supposed to give her a night-vision.

 

“What happened?” She questioned out loud.

 

“Ah, Jung Wheein, please don’t panic.”

 

Huh? Who was that? The voice was familiar… Ah, right. The doctor.

 

“Doc, what happened? Why is it so dark?”

 

The doctor paused for a while, before he cleared his throat and eventually spoke out. “The destruction has reached your eyes, Wheein-ssi. So, I’m afraid, you won’t be able to… uhm… see.”

 

What in the actual ?

 

Wheein could feel her heart sink down to her stomach. What kind of joke is this? Her? Getting blind? Someone could stab her right there right then and she could definitely heal herself right away. This was plain ridiculous. She could not die like this. She was a goddamn witch.

 

“I need a word with Moon Byulyi.” Wheein suddenly declared.

 

“I’m here, Wheein-ah.”

 

Very strangely, Wheein could feel her heartbeat slightly paced up at the voice. It was so softly spoken and drenched with pure concern. She never heard Byulyi that way before.

 

“I need to talk to you. Only the two of us.”

 

Soon after, she could hear some footsteps walking away and the sound of door creaking opened, then closed. For a moment, there was only silence.

 

“What is it, Wheein?” Byulyi asked.

 

“Okay, be honest with me. Who are you?” Wheein didn’t want to beat around the bush. She was obviously cursed, the witch who was responsible for it was at the same hospital, and the only living person she knew whom she had a bad blood with was Byulyi.

 

Wheein had lived nearly a year with her own kind and she didn’t even notice.

 

And now Byulyi’s here, right on her side, watching her curse work and watching Wheein slowly die. Was that also why her spell didn’t work on Byulyi? Because she casted a protection spell on her own self?

 

“Huh? What do you mean? I’m… Moon Byulyi?” Byulyi sounded dumbfounded, but Wheein wasn’t going to just believe in her. She had heard long time ago from her parents, when they were still together, about how some evil witches could be so manipulative.

 

“Alright, do not play with me. I know the truth, so just be honest with me.” Wheein said again, impatient this time.

 

“What truth? I really don’t understand. It’s just me, Byulyi, your co-worker.”

 

“Bull!” Wheein spat out. She never cursed out loud, but she had had enough and maybe it could be used to intimidate her opponent.

 

“Why are you even suddenly being kind to me, huh? To keep your friends close but enemies closer? Is that what you’re doing, Byulyi? Keeping your enemy closer?”

 

Wheein then could hear Byulyi audibly sighed.

 

“Look, I know you hate me and I know I’ve been not… very nice to you.”

 

Wheein snickered. ‘Not very nice’ was an understatement. What Byulyi had done was sinister.

 

“And I know my pranks and my jokes annoy you a lot, hell it even stresses you out. I might be the worst co-worker you could ever ask for but I swear to God, I never see you as an enemy. And I have no bad intention whatsoever towards you.”

 

Wheein doubted for a while. Did Byulyi really tell her the truth? She sounded honest, but who else could possibly put the curse on her? Byulyi might be the manipulative evil witch her parents had always warned her about.

 

“Another bull!” Wheein announced. “I’ve worked there for one year and there’s not even one episode where you don’t do s to me, Byulyi! Not even a goddamn day! And… And now,” Wheein continued, her tone getting higher and higher with each word, getting angrier and more urgent, “And now you told me you don’t see me as an enemy? That… That you don’t have any bad intentions? Everyone knows you do and what are you so nice for now, then? Why would you care? Why would you bother pretending to care-”

 

“Because I ing care. Because I care for you for real!” Byulyi half-screamed now, effectively cutting Wheein in the middle of her emotional burst-out.

 

“Because I care for you, Jung Wheein. Since the very first day you came to work. You- You’re this lovely, adorable girl and it’s just so easy to be around you. You smile a lot and- and there are deep dimples when you smile and I think they’re really cute but I’m just this awkward human who doesn’t really know how to make friends and- and I don’t know how to get closer to you even though I really want to and so that’s why I always make fun of you because that would get your attention.”

 

After Byulyi ended her confession - which she did in a hurry, almost like rapping a verse - she took a deep breath, didn’t dare to look at Wheein even though she knew Wheein couldn’t even see her.

 

Meanwhile, Wheein, on the other hand, was still trying to comprehend what Byulyi had just said. It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense anymore. Her head throbbed again.

 

“I need some time alone,” she eventually said, breaking the silence.

 

Byulyi only replied with a low mumble of “alright” and Wheein could hear her footsteps walking further away, followed by the sound of door opening and closing.

 

Just when Wheein was about to take a breath, trying to clear her head and sort everything in, she heard a voice coming out of nowhere.

 

“How more stupid can you be?”

 

Wheein let out a gasp, was very prepared to press the emergency button if she didn’t recognize that way-too-familiar voice.

 

“Kkomo? What the hell?!”

 

She was about to ask how the cat could sneak his way in, but then remember her magical cat was capable of short-distance teleportation. So, she changed the subject of her question and protested instead about why the hell he just showed up, considering how long she had been in the hospital.

 

“That’s not even the issue here, don’t try to shift the topic.” Wheein swore she could hear Kkomo rolling his eyes at her.

 

“This is crazy, Kkomo. First, I got cursed alright, by whoever witch or wizard who is also in this same effin’ building with me. Same hospital! Ha! So I thought it must’ve been Byulyi, right? Who else? No one hates me except for her-”

 

“And me,” Kkomo cut. If Wheein could see, she would’ve glare daggers at him.

 

“But anyway, so I confronted her, alright? And instead she… She confessed that she actually cared for me? That she-”

 

“Crushed on you.” Kkomo cut again.

 

“I wouldn’t say that! She never said anything like that!”

 

Oh, great, Jung Wheein. This wasn’t even the right time to blush. You were in a kind of life and dead situation here.

 

“I know you’re stupid, but I don’t know you’re this stupid.” Kkomo spoke. Wheein could feel his paws on her lap.

 

“Which part?” Wheein asked, sounding doubtful instead of defensive.

 

“Listen here, young lady. Remember the curse you put on Moon Byulyi the other day?”

 

Wheein nodded. “Yeah, it somehow didn’t work.”

 

“Oh it actually works just well.”

 

The witch frowned.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“See? This is why I told you, you’re stupid. Remember the curse?”

 

Wheein nodded again. “Of course. It is to destroy something she loves most, which is her photogr-”

 

“It’s you.”

 

If Wheein’s eyes functioned normally, she would’ve blinked. But they didn’t, so Wheein could only frown deeper.

 

“Me what?”

 

“Something Byulyi loves most! Or must I say, someone.”

 

Wheein’s jaw dropped.

 

What kind of nonsense?

 

But then again, when she connected all the dots, everything made sense. The curse she had put on Byulyi. Why the camera still worked just fine and she was suddenly cursed with a rare medical condition of her body cells destroying themselves. Then, Byulyi’s sudden confession.

 

Wheein didn’t know if she should be relieved because it meant she could just easily lift the curse off her own self, or if she should freak out because her annoying co-worker, well, loved her.

 

The fact that her heart beat too fast for her own liking didn’t help much either.

 

“What the hell are you waiting for? Go cancel the curse!” Kkomo said, bringing Wheein back from her thoughts.

 

“Huh? Oh yeah, right right.”

 

And that part was easy. Lighting up a candle, fully concentrating, mumbling some spells. Voila. Wheein’s sight came back and the headache vanished like it never happened.

 

The part where the doctor and nurse got hella confused of how Wheein just miraculously recovered (and also the part where she had to explain about her cat’s sudden break-in) was also easy.

 

What wasn’t easy was facing Byulyi, who remained at Wheein’s side despite not talking much, who helped Wheein with her stuffs and took Wheein home, whom once Wheein saw beyond her annoying shenanigans, was actually pretty sweet and adorable, especially with the tips of her ears heating up whenever Wheein was at close proximity.

 

God, that part was hard.

 

Wheein wasn’t sure what to do after knowing the fact that Byulyi didn’t just crush on her, but she loved her. Wheein was something - someone - Byulyi loved most.

 

“Thank you, for everything.” Wheein softly said, after she arrived at home.

 

“It’s not a big deal.” Byulyi only shrugged, glanced once at Wheein but once their eyes met, she immediately looked away.

 

“Alright, I’ll see you at work then? You can uh, go back to your initial schedules.” Wheein quickly added.

 

“Yeah. Cool. Alright.”

 

Awkward.

 

Wheein didn’t know what else to say, so she decided it was best to just enter her home and had a reflection session on her own about how to deal with Byulyi from now on.

 

“Okay then, bye-”

 

“Wait, Jung Wheein!”

 

Wheein halted her step and turned around too quickly, almost as if she was expecting it.

 

“Are you busy this Friday? We… Uh, we’re both off that day. There’s this cool place I want to show you.”

 

“Friday?” Wheein chirped out, almost cursing at herself right after for such dumb reaction.

 

“Yeah… I mean, if you’re busy then it’s fine.”

 

“I’m not. I’m not busy. Let’s go to that cool place.”

 

Byulyi’s eyes lit up and she looked at Wheein with her silly little grin. The grin Wheein used to despise so much but now had somehow… slightly adored. It wasn’t that bad, after all.

 

“Alright, then. I’ll see you. Tomorrow at work, and on Friday.”

 

Wheein formed a wide smile, trying to ignore the fact that her heart beat had paced up again, and the warmth spreading on her cheeks probably gave her away.

 

“Tomorrow, and on Friday.”

 

 

---

 

So... I initially thought of a sad-ending, but decided to be nice for once. Here's the fluff (is it even a fluff?) I promised to a certain soeone :D