Wish (Wishing Well #1)

Chapter 29

"Thanks for inviting me out with you guys tonight," Jungkook said around a mouthful of pizza. He hadn't gotten close to very many people since coming here, but realistically he wasn't supposed to. He had a mission and he needed to complete it. He couldn't help how nice it felt to be around normal people that accepted him as normal, too.

"No problem!" Emily chirped, beaming up at him. Jungkook smiled down at her, unease churning in his stomach. When he'd been sent here to do his job he was sure it would be a quick in and out operation, but it wasn't turning out that way. Somehow the girl next to him seemed to be a magnet for all beings mystical, and rather than getting to be her friend, he was using her to try and gain information about the beings near her.

I'm not going to think about that tonight Jungkook told himself. This night was his. He was just going to be a regular guy tonight. No magic. No Veil. No Wishing Well. Taehyung wasn't making it that easy though. Jungkook could sense Taehyung's otherness from the moment he met him, but he wasn't sure what he was. He could tell he was using some level of magic though and that unsettled him, even though the magic wasn't directed at him or Emily.

At least, it hadn't been. In that moment, Jungkook could feel something brushing against him and knew that some measure of magic was being directed toward them. What kind of magic is he using? Jungkook pondered, before making a snap decision. Wrapping his arm around Emily, he pulled her to his side and smiled down at her. She looked up at him, eyes widened momentarily, before softening as she fixed him with a radiant smile. Maybe whatever magic Taehyung was using was harmless, but if the defensive magic in his bracelet could defend him, then maybe by extension it could keep the magic from Emily, too.

After a few moments of chattering mindlessly with Emily about classes, Jungkook could feel the magic receding. Jungkook unwrapped his arm from around Emily and grabbed the bill off the table.

"I know you guys invited me out, but I want to treat you guys!" He told them as he rose from the table. Taehyung cocked his head at him, seeming to search him for something. The hair on the nape of Jungkook's neck rose for a moment. Had he been able to sense the magic from my bracelet?? They told me that it was strong, but undetectable to most magical beings. After a beat, Taehyung straightened again and smiled.

"Thanks, man!" he told Jungkook happily at the same moment Emily said, "You don't have to do that!"

"I want to." Jungkook assured her before walking toward the counter. This was the one thing he hated about working for Veil. The lying. The using people, especially people as kind-hearted as Emily.

Jungkook had just reached the counter when the bell over the front door dinged, signalling the entrance of more customers. Jungkook's hair ruffled with the breeze that came through the door, but the magnitude of the magic that swept in after the breeze set him on edge. Glancing over his shoulder as subtley as he could he took in the pair that had walked in. The woman had dark curly hair and was shorter than the man; she had magic, but the wave of magic crashing over Jungkook was coming from the man. The man was tall and handsome; he didn't look like anything special, but Junkook could tell otherwise. He had never felt a magical signature like that in the time he had been working for Veil. The magic truly felt like waves crashing over him, but it didn't feel treacherous or dark like some magic did. This magic felt pure, clean.

The man's gaze slid to Jungkook, his eyes widening momentarily. Jungkook whipped back around. He knows. How does he know?? The customer in front of Jungkook paid and stepped away from the counter. Trying to calm the pounding of his heart, he stepped forward and mindlessly paid the cashier. He shouldn't be able to know. I should be unidentifiable as a member of Veil unless I identify myself. I've never felt magic like that before though. It's at a scale that I could have never imagined.

Jungkook chanced another glance behind him, but the man's eyes were no longer fixed on him. Taehyung and Emily were making their way over to him and hadn't noticed the pair yet. The woman had noticed Emily though; the way she was looking at her made Jungkook's heart hurt. The woman who moments before had looked so cheerful now looked like someone had kicked her in the stomach as she watched Emily happily chattering with Taehyung.

Jungkook glanced at the man again and noticed he looked sad, too. His eyes were fixed on the woman and it seemed he was hurting for whatever was hurting her. Emily and Taehyung were almost to him, when Emily seemed to realize she was being watched. She did a double take when she saw the woman, freezing where she stood. In that moment it was like time stopped. Taehyung was the only one seemingly unaffected by the sudden, almost tangible shift in the atmosphere. When Taeehyung noticed that she wasn't beside him anymore, and his eyebrows squinched at her sudden change in mood. Understanding lit up Taehyung's face when he saw who Emily was staring at.

"Emily," the woman all but whispered as she took a step toward Emily. Time seemed to speed back up then and Emily seemed to take an unconscious step forward. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

Emily's steps halted at the woman's words. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth, Angela?"

Angela's eyes flicked toward the man.

"Ralph? Ralph told you not to tell me?" Emily's voice was pained. If she'd looked at Jungkook the way she was looking at Ralph and Angela, Jungkook would have been grovelling on his knees trying to erase the hurt from her face.

"It wasn't just you," Angela answered, stepping toward her again. Ralph reached out and grabbed Angela's upper arm. When she looked up at him, irritation evident in her glare, Ralph flicked his gaze toward Jungkook.

"We shouldn't be discussing this here."

Understanding dawned on Angela then and she nodded, stepping back.

"Are you kidding?" Emily asked, mood seeming to fluctuate simeultaneously between anger and hurt, where moments ago Jungkook had thought she might have softened with a little more explanation.

When her frustration was met with silence, Emily grabbed Taehyung's wrist and closed the distance between them.

"Can we go?"

Jungkook nodded, reaching down to clasp her hand. Angela looked startled at their familiarity, but Ralph stared at him curiously. Emily ignored them both, towing him and Taehyung behind her to the door. She brushed past Angela and Ralph as if they didn't exist, releasing Taehyung's wrist long enough to open the door. As they stepped through, Jungkook looked back one more time to find Ralph still staring at him.

One thought forced its way into his head as the door closed, When did Veil recruit you? Jungkook stumbled at the utter intrusion of someone else speaking into his mind. Glancing down at his wrist he verified the presence of his bracelet. What kind of being must that man be if his magic was able to override the power of his main defense against magical beings?

Jungkook looked down at Emily again. He didn't know if she had any idea about the people surrounding her, but one thing was certain. He was going to have to get a lot closer to her if he wanted to help Veil bring Wishing Well to the ground.