Hexed Intention

Haein felt a rush of relief when Yoonmin paused. She had been right about soft-hearted Yoonmin. He said they should both just live their lives, but what if Haein refused? What if she showed him that she needed him in order to go on? Yoonmin was too gentle to ignore something like that.

Jian stared at Haein, looking hurt and confused. “What do you mean, you’re not hanging out with us anymore? Did you sign up for some kind of after school activity?”

“No,” Haein said, pushing herself up to her feet. “I just don’t think I really fit in with you guys. And I’m tired of trying to pretend that I do.”

She could see Yoonmin standing, frozen in the hallway. He hadn’t turned to look, but she knew he was listening. She moved toward him and he twisted around at the sound of her footsteps. He opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but Haein beat him to it.

“If we can’t go back to how things were… I’ll just be alone.”

Yoonmin’s mouth clamped shut on whatever he was planning to tell her. Haein walked past him and down the stairs. Cold sweat ran down her back. What would Jian think of her? What kind of gossip would the other kids spread? Had she made the right decision?

Teenagers are cruel, and even more so in groups. They lash out and wield verbal violence against those who are excluded. On her first day at Seorim Middle School, Haein had become so overwhelmed that she burst into tears. Her classmates instantly began to push her to the edges of the social sphere, talking openly about her, even if she was right in front of them. They didn’t care if she heard.

“She’s kind of weird. Is she sick? Can she even speak normally? You know, I heard from a friend that she was bullied at her last school too…”

Day after day, Haein was forced to listen to these conversations. She sequestered herself in a corner, face always glowing red with shame. The other kids never bothered to have her confirm or deny their assumptions. School is like a jungle. To have a voice, you need power. You need authority. And that’s something you have to earn on your own. Teachers? Adults? If you ask for their help, they’ll just say, “If you just speak up and be yourself, you’ll be just fine!”

In a way, they were right. Power, confidence… They were almost interchangeable terms in a classroom setting. In elementary school, Haein wasn’t just ignored—she was actively attacked. The kids would scribble on her desk, mock her whenever she spoke up, hide her backpack, and tear up her textbooks.

Even after she entered middle school, it continued. The kids who had led the bullying in elementary school moved with her into the same middle school. Eventually, her parents simply moved her to a new school in the hopes that a fresh start was all she needed. Yet even after transferring, she still heard the same thing.

“Did you know she was bullied at her last school too?”

People believe that those who are bullied are at fault. Anyone who says otherwise is a bald-faced liar. People think there’s always a reason for someone being excluded, that there’s something wrong with the person being shunned. But once you’ve been rejected from society, the reason why becomes unimportant; you’re branded as defective.

Haein Ju, in 8th grade, was terrified of living life on the outskirts. Actually, she still was, to this day. The thought of going to school alone, eating lunch alone, not speaking to anyone, walking home by herself, and ending each day with no one to talk to… It was all unbearable. But her greatest fear was enduring those glances that said, “She’s kind of weird, isn’t she?”

Haein was ashamed of having been bullied. She couldn’t even tell Yoonmin how she felt. She was too scared of being left out. Yet when she was with Yoonmin, she didn’t feel so afraid. She even thought that maybe, with him by her side, the other kids wouldn’t ignore her.

That all changed when she’d committed the worst sin. The mistake she most regretted—believing that the popular girls would save her more than Yoonmin could.

As she went down the stairs, Haein’s mind was filled with churning thoughts. She realized that, once again, she was relying on Yoonmin’s kindness. Not only relying on him, she was threatening him.

If you don’t care about me, my life will fall apart.

There’s no way the kind-hearted Yoonmin would leave a broken Haein alone. He would never abandon her if she ended up isolated from everyone in school. With that selfish scheme in mind, Haein had blurted out, “I’m not hanging out with you guys anymore.”

But… What if even this doesn’t make Yoonmin care about me again? What if Yoonmin still turns his back on me… Then what?

***

The next day, Jian cornered Yoonmin to talk about Haein.

“What do we do, Yoonmin?!”

“What do you mean, what do we do?” he muttered. This was the last place he wanted to be right now: in the claws of a frantic and emotional Jian.

“You know this has something to do with you. Fix it!”

“What do you expect me to do?”

Jian was practically in tears. She’d beelined straight for Yoonmin first thing in the morning, even before Haein had arrived at school. Haein hadn’t responded to a single message on the group chat with Yeeun, Jinsol, Ahyoon, Jian, and Soyul yesterday. Not only that, but she had actually left the chat altogether. She’d said she wasn’t going to hang out with them anymore and it seemed like she meant it.

“You know what you could do,” Jian said fiercely. “If you would just make up with her—”

“I did. We made up.”

“What? Really?” Jian took a step back, stunned. “But when she left yesterday… I saw her say something to you. And I could tell the vibe was weird.”

Yoonmin pressed his lips together.

She may be dumb, but she’s sharp sometimes,

What else was he supposed to do if forgiving Haein hadn’t been enough? Last night, he’d read a book on black magic and then went to bed. He wasn’t reading the parts about cursing people anymore. Instead, he’d read about invisibility spells and summoning demons—anything to escape the thoughts of Haein.

Haein, you’re asking too much. Yoonmin hadn’t cursed her in a long time. He had accepted Haein’s apology. So now what? Go back to how things used to be? Always hanging out together, recounting every little thing that happened each day, making up ridiculous jokes, and talking about the occult as if the past two years were nothing?

That wasn’t something you could force. You could force forgiveness, sure, but not the recovery of a friendship. Yoonmin had come to realize the worst part of it all wasn’t Haein’s betrayal. It didn’t matter whether Haein had called him a pill bug or not. What truly mattered was that Haein hadn’t been satisfied with their relationship. She’d gone out in search of something more.

When Yoonmin was with Haein, he was genuinely excited. He began to enjoy going to school. Talking about the occult, UFOs, psychology, sociology… Haein would widen her eyes in amazement and say how impressive it all was. How did Yoonmin know so much? How did he come up with it? She made him feel confident.

Yoonmin had believed that he made Haein happy. He was proud of the fact that, despite being a gloomy and boring loser, he could still bring joy to at least one person. He’d thought, At least one person likes being with me.

But it was all a lie. Haein hadn’t enjoyed spending time with him. Yoonmin had only been a temporary escape from Haein’s loneliness. Her popular friends and their inane conversation was what brought her true happiness.

He’d puzzled over the same things again and again as the years passed. Had she just been pretending to have fun all that time? Did she secretly find the conversations boring? Did she truly think of Yoonmin as just some miserable kid with depressing thoughts? She must have, if she so easily abandoned him.

Haein said she wanted to go back to how things were, but were there really “old times” to go back to? Was she referring to that false relationship, where she pretended to be interested in what Yoonmin had to say? Why bring it up now? Was she just having issues with her new friends and needed a backup?

Yoonmin hadn’t changed. If he talked about something, Haein would probably look at him in awe and tell him how incredible it was. But now, Yoonmin would always wonder what Haein was really thinking. Was she actually impressed, or were they just more empty words?

Yoonmin was lost in thought when the classroom’s front door creaked open.

“Oh, it’s Haein,” Jian cheered.

She ran towards Haein, like a golden retriever greeting its owner. Jian leapt towards Haein and threw her muscular arms around her friend’s delicate frame.

“Haeinnnnn,” Jian whined, squeezing tighter. “Haein, what’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

“Let go,” Haein said flatly.

Jian pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. “Haein…”

“I said, let go.” Haein’s voice was razor sharp. Jian sagged, as though she had been slapped, and dropped her arms.

The icy tone of Haein’s voice left the classroom in a stunned silence. But Haein paid no mind and walked straight to her seat. Whispers began circulating around the classroom.

“What’s up with Haein all of a sudden?”

“Did Jian do something wrong?”

“Haein’s not usually like this…”

Yoonmin sat at his desk, watching the back of Haein’s head. Her slumped posture seemed to say, “Look how broken I’ve become because of you.”

So, what am I supposed to do about it? Yoonmin thought, the words laced with irritation and guilt.

He had accepted Haein’s apology. How they each dealt with school life from now on was their own business.

Yoonmin dropped his gaze when Haein turned to look back at him. He opened his book, The History of Grimoire, a book summarizing the various styles of grimoires that existed throughout history.

A 10th-century Japanese magic book… There’s nothing as brutal as the Hyungnyun Jubeop spell. Maybe it’s an extremely rare book?

Yoonmin tried desperately to distract himself with the book. In a blur of lessons and black magic, somehow, he made it to lunchtime. He could hear Haein’s friends attempting to speak to her again.

“Haein, did we do something wrong?”

“Is it because Soyul was acting out again? Or maybe Jian was too much?”

“Tell us. If we did something wrong, we’ll fix it…”

They’re all worried about her, Yoonmin thought. They are good people. Instead of blaming Haein for her attitude, their instinct was to ask if they were the ones at fault.

“Haein…”

Jian was on the verge of tears again, but Haein’s expression did not soften.

“I told you. I don’t think I fit in with you guys.”

“What does that even mean?”

Haein sighed. “Stop bothering me. Just leave me alone.”

“Haein, why are you doing this?” Jinsol demanded, her frown deepening.

She was the most hot-tempered of the group. Jian quickly threw a comforting arm around Jinsol’s waist and said, “Jinsol, don’t get mad. Haein is just going through something right now. Right?”

Haein didn’t answer. She didn’t even look at them. She just stared at her lunch. That attitude certainly didn’t sit well with the others.

“Haein, this really isn’t okay. We’ve been your friends for years…”

“Yeah. How could you suddenly say we’re not good enough for you?”

“If this has been on your mind, you should have said something. Why are you ditching us out of nowhere?”

The other four were beginning to sound less hurt and more angry when Jian stepped in.

“Hey, hey, guys! Hold on, hold on. I’m sure Haein has a reason for acting like this, okay?”

“Yeah, but how are we supposed to help if she won’t talk to us?”

“I’ll talk to her,” Jian said, desperate to diffuse the situation, “Okay? Just give her some space.”

In the end, Haein and the others sat separately, eating their lunches. As Haein ate alone, she kept glancing at Yoonmin.

It made him uneasy.

***

When class ended, two of Haein’s six-member clique stayed behind. Jian moved hesitantly over to Haein’s desk while the other four girls stalked out. Jian hovered around Haein awkwardly for a moment.

“Haein…” she said. “You know, the others are going to that new candied fruit skewer place by the station.”

Haein was silent.

“But, I was thinking,” Jian pressed on, “you don’t really like sweet things, right? But the girls really love sweet stuff, so maybe it’s been annoying for you when we go out for snacks. Is that why you got tired of hanging out with us?”

A muscle in Haein’s jaw flickered.

“I’m sure it would have been awkward to bring that up,” Jian continued doggedly. “So, let’s do something different today, just the two of us. You like more adult flavors, right? Like Americanos? I found a place nearby that roasts their own beans. We could—”

“Jian,” Haein interrupted coldly. “I told you already. I’m not hanging out with you guys anymore. So why do you keep trying to talk to me?”

“Haein…”

“Just leave me alone! You’re starting to piss me off.”

“Haein.” Jian’s voice cracked. “We’ve been so close for two years…”

Haein took a deep breath and said in a more measured tone, “I’d appreciate it if you stopped talking to me.”

With that, Haein stood up from her seat.

“Haein…”

Tears welled up in Jian’s eyes as Haein strode away from her toward the classroom door.

The sharp sound of angry shoes splintered the classroom’s tense atmosphere. Yoonmin caught up to Haein, grabbing her by the shoulder and spinning her around.

“Yoonmin?”

Haein’s face brightened for a moment, but instantly froze.

Yoonmin’s expression was twisted with fury. His fingers tightened on her shoulder.

“You haven’t changed at all, Haein Ju.”

Haein’s eyes widened in shock.

“Stop acting like such a piece of shit.”