The Witches (Book #1)

𝔘𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔄𝔩𝔩 𝔗𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔅𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔞𝔡𝔬

The bell rings at the end of my sixth class literature class, and I'm the first person out of the classroom. I can't wait to get out of his place. If I hear one more person whisper that the Lineages cursed me, I'll scream.

I rush to my locker. Good, Seulgi isn't there yet. I spin the numbers on my combination lock and quickly open the latch. As I grab my notebooks, Sehun heads straight for me. I slam my locker shut and walk toward the exit. But by the time I reach the door, he catches up.

"Suzy, what the hell's going on?"

"Go away."

"Not until you tell me why you're so angry." He keeps pace with my speed-walking. "You've been avoiding me all day."

"You know why." I turn down the sidewalk away from the school.

"No, I really don't."

"Please, I don't need to feel any more ridiculous than I already do." I watch the cracks on the sidewalk pass under my feet, trying to steer my mind away from how hurt I feel.

"I've been nothing but nice to you. Am I missing something here?"

I look at him for the first time since we started talking. "How did the Lineages find out about my dad being in the hospital?"

"I don't . . . Oh, shit."

"Shit is right." I adjust my gaze downward again and walk faster than before. There had been some part of me that still hoped it wasn't him. I shouldn't have trusted him.

"It's not what you think."

"I don't want to have this conversation."

"Suzy, you weren't there. You don't know what I said."

"I don't care." I'm better off alone.

"Well, I do," he says. "By lunchtime of your first day, I heard the Lineages were going to make your life hell. There were rumors all over about you. I talked to Seulgi, told her to get the group to back off, that you were going through some tough things. I had no idea they were going to use it against you."

The weight of the day settles behind my eyes and I want to get away from him before I embarrass myself more. I make my way onto the sidewalk near my house. He steps in front of me before I reach my driveway.

"Move," I say.

"No. Not until you say you believe me."

"Sehun, come on." I make eye contact with him. "You're a junior with a ton of friends. People like you. I don't believe for a second that you want to spend all this time with me." My voice shakes a little. "I just want you to stop making fun of me."

"I'm not making of you." He's so sincere, I'm not sure whether to hit him for being such a good liar or to believe him.

"You already won. I feel like crap. Job done."

"Come over and talk to my mom."

I stop. What's he up to?

"I'll make a deal with you. Come talk to my mom, and if you're not convinced I'm telling the truth, then I'll leave you alone." He watches me consider it. "And I'll do our history paper. You won't even have to talk to me."

I eye him suspiciously. "Fine. But you better not suck at history."

I follow him to his house, with its blue painted wood trimmings and nautical star. The moment he opens the screen door, delicious scents of warm dough and apple-cinnamon fill my nose.

The house is surprising. It's interior is reminiscent of the inside of a boat, one with high masts, used for adventures. Rustic raw-wood beams stripe the white ceilings—they really renovated this hanok. The shelves are made from driftwood, and so is the banister.

"Eomma!" Sehun yells, and heads down the hallway to the left. He leads me through an squared wooden archway.

The kitchen counters are covered with cookies, pies, and every wonderful thing. Model ships decorate the walls, and glass jars of spices line the windowsills.

"Sooji!" Mrs. Oh beams from behind her mixing bowl. "You've finally come to visit."

"Hi, Mrs. Oh." I approach the island filled with sweets.

"My mom owns Sugar Spells Bakery in town," Sehun explains. "But she spends most of her time here, making new recipes."

So she owns the bakery. I nod, hoping that Yoomi didn't yell at Mrs. Oh over those pastries.

Mrs. Oh smiles. "Have anything you like."

I choose a heart-shaped tart with fresh raspberries and bite into it. "It's delicious."

"Eomma, tell Suzy what I told you when I came home after the first day of school," Sehun says.

She tilts her head. "He told me the students were turning on you."

"And?"

She eyes Sehun curiously. "And that he knew what it was like to have that happen and would try to stop it."

"See."

I look back and forth between them.

Mrs. Oh puts down her mixing bowl. "Sehun, leave us a minute."

"Eomma—"

"Sehun."

He huffs, but walks out of the room.

"Take a seat, she says, and I pull out one of the high-backed chairs at the island. She adds brown sugar to her bowl before continuing. "Did you know I grew up in this house?"

I shake my head.

"Your father and I were practically inseparable. We were born one month apart. Did everything together. He was at best at thinking up pranks but a total cheat at running races." She laughs. "Used to make me look the wrong way and would take off."

I try to imagine my dad acting silly with a young Mrs. Oh. After everything started going downhill for me socially, my dad lost a lot of his playfulness. He took it hard that he couldn't change things for me. I sigh. "I always wanted to know about this place, but he wouldn't talk about it. I didn't know about you." I worry I've said the wrong thing, but she only looks thoughtful.

"Yes." She stirs her bowl. "He divorced this place after your mother died. He was devastated. We all were. But he didn't let it interfere with being a father. You should have seen the way he wouldn't put you down as a baby."

I look at my hands. "I miss him." Every day without him feels empty.

"I know you do." Her voice is kind. "My heart breaks for you, thinking how you must be suffering. But it won't help to shut people out. I see Joohan's stubbornness written all over you. You know, he sprained his ankle one year while we were ice-skating down at the river. Dragged himself home the whole mile and a half. Wouldn't even let me carry his shoes. Dalmi nearly had a fit.

"I'm not trying to shut people out. It's just, no one really likes me here."

"Sehun does. And if you let him in, you might find something worth knowing under all that bravado."

"I don't have any bravado," Sehun says from the hallway. "I'm just naturally awesome."

"Sehun, eavesdropping is a terrible habit," she says, "made common by swindlers and little old ladies."

He appears in the archway with his confident grin. "Don't worry. I just came back to see if you were done."

"That's up to Sooji," she says.

"Yeah, I think so," I say. "can I come back at some point? I'd love to hear some of those stories about my dad."

"There's nothing I'd like more." She scoops out a mound of batter that smells like eggnog and warm butter.

Sehun gestures me to follow him.