Before Her Very Eyes

Chapter 64

Arin felt the same butterflies in her stomach when she took the potion and had to be intimate with Jun or Jeonghan. The only difference was that this time, it was real. There was no subdued icky feeling in her chest about how this was fake and manufactured to farm magic. It was so much better, and so it made her feel so much more alive.

A ringing phone caused both of them to pull back from one another, red-cheeked and breathless. It was Woozi's phone. Arin glanced at his screen: 'Eyes.'

Woozi sighed when he saw the name and turned off his phone again.

Earlier that day, when Eyes had called, Arin had not asked about her, thinking it was none of her business. Now, things had changed. It was her business, and she needed to ask about it.

"Your ex, 'Eyes'... Is there anything between you?" she asked.

Woozi looked agitated all of the sudden. It was a look which told Arin that things weren't quite settled between the two of them, whatever it was.

"I see," Arin said, looking down.

"You don't have to worry about her," Woozi said quickly. "I'm done with her. I... I'm done."

There was hesitation in his voice. "I don't think you are."

"I..." Woozi trailed off. "Give me until tomorrow. I'll be done with her for good then."

Arin nodded. "Okay."

She felt a little embarrassed about having an intimate moment with someone who seemed to have unfinished business with someone else. She wished he would have been more open about that relationship from the start so she didn't have to feel guilty about it now, so that she could have revelled in the magical feeling of being close to someone for a lot longer.

Woozi took her hand in his own and held it, but she pulled her hand back. "I'll wait until tomorrow," she said.

He nodded and retracted his arm. He then smiled at her. "In that case, would you go out on a date with me tomorrow night, Arin?"

Arin blushed and nodded.

"I know the outside world makes you anxious, so we can just order dinner and watch a movie together or something."

"That sounds perfect."

It would be the first date she had since the disastrous Chilli concert that ended in the worst possible way, with the death of her mother, her idol, and the boy she was dating.

Usually the memory of that night would trigger her, but now, she was happily looking forward to a future that would drown it out. She would silence that memory with the happy ones she was going to make. Tomorrow night could not come fast enough.

-

The next morning, she went to MRS for the regularly-scheduled extraction session. She didn't know what to expect that morning given that the potion was not going to work anymore. She was afraid that she had disappointed them, and was anxious about meeting Hoshi to discuss what they were going to do.

She found Hoshi sitting outside the extraction area, looking through some of his notes. Jun was standing over him.

"Hey! Look who's here!" Hoshi beamed when he saw her. "How was your night?"

He had a suggestive wink on his face that made Arin blush. She was glad to see that he had taken the whole thing lightly. She had half-expected to see him disappointed or even angry at her.

"I think she had a great night," Jun said, smiling at her.

"Well then," Hoshi said. He put down his notes on a nearby desk and looked over at her. "Now we have to come up with a new strategy. The good news is that not all is lost. Even if the potion won't work, it's not just romantic love that your curse interacts with. You love other people, too, right? Yoonsa told us that it's especially strong with Jeonghan, so..."