celestial strings | h.js

one.

It was an organized mess with too many events and too many repressed emotions for you to explain it like a glorified story.

"That's fine, I got you," he said with a quick nod. Finally approaching you, he gently tugged at your hand and pulled you to the edge of his bed where you both sat down. He hummed for a little, having to gather his questions first before he asked, "Let us start easy. I don't need that much detail but can you tell me about the strings on your hands?"

"Yeah," you said after a sigh. "They are–"

"Magic?" Jisung looked at you, his tone was more serious than you have ever heard him. When you gave him a shocked expression, he shrugged. "I kind of figured. You threw me over the school gate, which is tall as hell. And you just sent me flying across the room in your sleep. I wouldn't believe you now if you try to tell me otherwise."

You pursed your lips together. The determination in his eyes was familiar to you, yet they felt so vague and confusing. You feared what the burning was for. Was it the intention to hate and expose you? Or was it to accept and understand you? The question lingered but you kept it inside.

"Yeah, they are magic," you muttered, rubbing your wrist in a circular motion. "I was born a magic-user. I used to live in a more magic-populated city–it's actually the one close to this city, hence why I escaped over here to Seoul. This is the fastest place I could run to and hide, and it is a bonus that this city is huge."

Jisung raised an eyebrow. He was hearing too many buzz words. "What are you escaping from?"

"Like I said, it is a very long story," you informed.

You were not holding out hope that Jisung would choose to back down and let the matter drop. It was more so to give him a fair warning that he was about to take a deep dive into your childhood and everything that led you up to this point. Glancing up at him, you took a deep breath to calm yourself too when you saw that he seemed ready and steady to listen.

"All magic cities have two councils, one for the magic users and the other for the ordinary people that lived in the city. The one we are focusing on is the one that pertains to people like us. I was never too sure what it is that they do, I just know that my family members have always held high power within the group because of the unique magic our family use," you explained, rubbing your hands to calm your nerves.

"A new batch of councilmen is selected whenever the current ones turn too old for the job. There isn't a set interval like the government system you guys have–things don't change every couple of years, things change when people die." You explained. " And, like I said, my family has a history of working with the council. They go through the elections and they tend to be chosen to be part of the group of councilmen. It has been like that for a long time."

Jisung was nodding along as you spoke. He listened carefully to everything you said, about how the last election was no different than the rest and how your father was supposed to be the next in line after your grandfather had passed away. Up until that point, a sense of dread had started to paint over his face gradually. He could almost predict how things would unfold for you and he was devastated.

"The election ceremony happened at night. I was not told any gory detail of what exactly went down. I just heard that there was a blackout and when the lights came back up, my entire family was gone. Dead, if not dead then injured," you said, your voice trembling and your brows furrowing as you tried to remember.

It felt like there was a knot clogging in your throat and it was taking you too much effort to speak "The injured ones were all rushed to the hospital, but only my uncle managed to come out alive. He has been in a coma ever since. I... I am not sure why, though. I can't wrap my head around why they decided to keep him alive."