Cursed | Yang Hongseok

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We followed the three girls trough the door next to which Jinho found the witch grass, and after a few seconds, we found ourselves in a comfortable apartment full of different plants and books on the shelves. Since those girls were obviously the witches who we were looking foor, I didn't even need to guess what all of those things were for.

"Take a seat." A blond girl called Soojin said with her soft, emotionless voice, pointing at the couch in what seemed to be the living room. The five of us immediately obeyed, squeezing ourselves to fit on the couch that obviously wasn't made for so many people.

"So, what brings you here?" The short haired girl, Yeeun asked us. To me, she seemed the least dangerous. Maybe because she actually looked like she had some feelings, unlike her two friends.

My eyes met with Hongseok's, and then he nodded, singaling me that he was going to be the one who would explain everything.

"This is going to be kind of hard to believe, but since you already have some experience with magic, I'm not doubting you."

Then, he told them everything, just like he told me a few days ago. While he was talking, the three witches remained quiet. I wasn't sure if they were actually trying to believe us, or if they were just trying to find a lie of some kind, ready to kick us out.

When Hongseok finished talking, he took a deep breath, looking directly at Miyeon's eyes, since she was sitting at the opposite side of the table, between the two blondes.

"We are asking you to help us. No, we are begging you." He said, with pain being evident in his voice. "This has been going on for way too long. We just want it to end."

The girls kept quiet for a few seconds, and then Miyeon spoke.

"And what exactly do we get in return if we even manage to break this curse?"

The guys next to me exchanged looks with each other. Of course this question would eventually come up, but the truth was, no one really knew what our response was going to be.

"Truth to be told, we can't really offer you much." Hoeataek explained calmly. "But, if you manage to break our immortality curse, I can only promise you that we will protect you for as long as you need it. We know how dangerous it is to be a witch, even now, in the modern times. And my friends and I, we had been soldiers for a long time back then, and even after, we had to go trough a lot of battles in order to survive."

"But how can we know if you're telling the truth?" Soojin asked. When she said that, Hoetaek gave her one honest look, and for the first time in these thirty minutes, I saw a trace of emotions on her face. Was it guilt, compassion, or something else? I had no clue.

"You're a witch, Soojin." He said, saying her name softly as if it was a song of some kind. "I believe you'll know if someone is lying to you. And I swear to you, with everything I have, that I'm speaking the truth."

I kept staring at their faces, especially Soojin's, for a few more seconds. Although it was really hard to believe, it seemed as if Hoetaek managed to break her cold attitude by only a few sentences. I couldn't blame her, though, since he was really good-looking, and he really was telling the truth. Or at least so I thought.

"I say we should help them." Yeeun suddenly said. A satisfied smile appeared on my face, but I tried to hide it, trying not to look suspicious. Not only did Yeeun seem the most likable, but there was also someting about her that seemed really familiar to me, I just couldn't figure out what it was.

"...I agree." Soojin said, and although I managed to contain my victorious facial expression inside, I couldn't say the same for Hoetaek. As soon as she agreed to help us, a little smirk appeared on his face. I couldn't really understand that sudden spark that appeared between the two of them, but I didn't question it either. After all, having at least on of those witches on our side would be more than desirable.

After both Yeeun and Soojin stated their opinions on this, it was time for the oldest girl to do so. I looked at her to examine her face – it seemed as if she was hesitating quite a lot. I didn't really blame her, because if she was the eldest one like they said earlier, she probably felt like it was her responsibility to protect the other two girls.

The silence grew more and more, and in one moment, I thought she wasn't going to answer at all.

But then, she finally did.

"...Alright." She said, still sounding serious. "We will help you. And, like I promised earlier, I apologize for attacking you. But you should know, the process of breaking this curse won't be easy at all."

"What do you mean?" I asked, because it sounded more like she was thinking of one specific thing.

"Because, in order to know what kind of a curse it actually was, we have to go back in time." She explained. "Way back."