chapter 9:
chores

third person
"are you serious???" said hae seul.

dn: yes hae seul. after yesterday's events the last thing we want you to do is train again.

today was the witch council's tri-annual training event. it's where witches in training from every branch of the council come together to build up their abilities with some of the most powerful witches in the underworld and on the surface.

this would be the perfect event for hae seul to attend. and also for namjoon to help him train hae seul better.

but after yesterday's catastrophe, the graeae completely benched them.

nj: come on your excellencies! this would be perfect for hae seul. who knows when the broken wands will strike again. she needs this training.

ph: hae seul isn't the only witch in the world, namjoon. if that is the case we send in other witches. more disciplined witches that can control their powers.

hae seul lowered her head in shame. she thought it was all her fault. but really it was this shard of darkness inside of her. she couldn't control it. she couldn't understand it. all the events of the previous day were out of her reach.

"if only the graeae knew this," she thought to herself.

dn: sorry you guys, but it's final. when the workshop is over, i expect to see this place as clean and pure as the heavens. is that clear?

hs x nj: yes, your excellency.

ph: good. we will leave you now.

pemphredo and deino left the scene while enyo stayed back to whisper something to the two.

ey: it's okay, guys. hae seul, i know it isn't your fault. we'll work closely to help you control that darkness, wherever it may have come from. namjoon and i, that is.

hs: thank you, your excellency.

ey: please. when my sisters aren't around, call me auntie enyo. both of you.

nj: thank you, auntie.

ey: you are ever so welcome 😊. oh, and don't take this as a punishment. use this as a time to get to know each other a little better. until later, ms choi and mr. kim.

enyo quickly teleported to meet up with her sisters.

the two smiled at each other and began their chores.

a few hours later

the halls of the council hideaway have been filled with the joyous sound of laughter.

the two had been having the best time of their lives.

before all of this, really, they were friends by force. namjoon was the trainer, hae seul the trainee. they worked together to prevent a massacre. that's all they really were.

but now, after the giggles they shared, the games they played, in a minimum of 3 hours, they were friends by choice.

it's like they unlocked a special connection. that was just waiting to be discovered.

if only the other knew this connection was something much more to one of them..

each time namjoon smiled at her sacrasm, laughed at her joke, or even acknowledged her prescence, she felt something. something new. something strange. something, magical.

not the type of magic she deals with, but something else. for this was the time hae seul discovered the emotion of love.

well at least she didn't know to call it that. she didn't know what to call it at all. but she knew it was there.

deciding to break out of the debate going on in her mind, hae seul decided to ask some different questions. not "what's your favourite food?" or "favourite place on any realm?". the more important questions.

she wanted to know who really is kim namjoon.

hs: so, namjoon?

nj: i'm listening, harriet.

hs: where's your parents? did you leave them to pursue your dream of being a demon hunter? what are they like?

he lowered his head and is heart was overtaken by this sudden wave of sadness.

hae seul obviously saw that something was wrong. she immediately grabbed namjoon's hand and held it dearly in her smaller one.

hs: nam-

nj: I don't know my parents... ive been an orphan all my life...

hae seul immediately wrapped namjoon into a hug. she didn't need to hear anymore.

all that mattered to her was that he was hurting and she didn't want to see that.

she's never liked when people she loved were upset.

nj: your mother told me that my parents we're slaughtered by the broken wands for being witch supporters. haeji rescued me and raise me to the man i am today.

hs: so you became a demon hunter.. for your parents?

nj: i do everything for my parents...

she released him from her embrace for a moment, took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze

hs: im super sorry, joon.

nj: it's ok, can ask about your dad?

hs: drug addict. lsd.

nj: wow...

hs: but my mom loved him to pieces. overall, he was a good dad. but the day he heard mom had passed, he snapped. rehab doesn't have that many celebrities surprisingly. anyways, after that, my dad started to hate me. he would abuse me and tease me, things he would never do to ain yeon in a million years. now we know why, i guess. after four months, he finally left. he apparently fucked some other chick and im expecting a half sibling in three months. don't know the gender, don't care - to be honest.

namjoon quickly grabbed her back into another embrace. this lasted for a minute or two until he broke the silence.

nj; i'm so sorry, seul. look at me.

still in each others embrace, she looked up into his mesmerizing eyes.

nj: no matter what, we'll do this together. i know you are the more powerful one in this situation, but i'll do everything in my power to keep you safe, choi hae seul.

hae seul was at a lost for words. she had a strong urge to just yell out "i love you!' to namjoon. but she had to wait until she knew what her heart was truly saying to her.

little did she know, namjoon was facing the same issue.

he too experienced an irregular heartbeat around the other. but he was too afraid to fall in love again. especially with yesterday's events, he didn't want to fall for another j'da.

but he couldn't hold it back.

"i'll do anything for you.." he blurted out without thinking.

the two slowly leaned in but their lips never connected. they were both afraid of loving. for different reasons of their own.

namjoon, as stated early, didn't want it turn out like how it did with his ex.

hae seul, didn't want to be left out of fear of her compabilities. like what her father did to her.

so they both decided to bottle up their feelings and take that step back.

they looked at each other for a while then continued their work in dead silence, as if nothing ever happened.

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