Hexed Intention

Yoonmin had once seen a meme that he thought was a perfect depiction of the world. It showed a popular kid, struck by a single arrow, surrounded by a crowd of people seeking to comfort them. On the other side was a loner, peppered with arrows, like a porcupine, and no one even batted an eye. For Yoonmin, it was the undeniable truth of how society worked.

How could anyone argue with that? According to the world, which person bore more wounds—the bullied loser, or the popular girl whose boyfriend made fun of her? “It depends,” people said. Yoonmin hated hearing the lip service. Better to be openly cruel than pretend otherwise.

The loser who’s constantly picked on obviously suffers more, and more deeply. But no one wants the responsibility of comforting a social outcast. There’s no benefit in doing so, only the risk of others lumping you in with the pariahs. And if the loser can’t bear their pain any longer and ends up hanging themselves?

“Oh no, that’s such a shame,” they say, wondering how long they have to pretend to feel sad about it, and waiting impatiently to laugh and joke around again without seeming insensitive. And then, in no time, everyone goes back to their lives, as if nothing happened.

It doesn’t matter how hurt someone is or by whom. The important question is whether or not someone can gain something by sympathizing with the victim. And there is no point in standing on the side of a loser.

“You, what did you do to Haein?”

Luckily, after years of being an outcast, Yoonmin had reached a certain understanding. He knew that trying to tell his schoolmates about Haein’s betrayal would be meaningless. Even if he truthfully explained everything that happened, in great detail, Jian wouldn’t even bother to consider his side.

“Are you trying to blame Haein for what you did? It sounds like you’ve been hallucinating. Haein, hanging out with you? Don’t make me laugh.”

Girls who pick a side are often loyal to a fault. Right and wrong don’t matter. Their focus is defending their own and tearing down their enemies. How did Yoonmin figure this out? It took innumerable experiences for him to learn this lesson. He was too naive, and the world was too cruel. Not once had any of his protests ever worked. Not a single time.

Now, he knew what to do in situations like this. There was only one response.

“None of your business.”

“You little bastard.”

Jian backed Yoonmin into a corner against the wall. They were in the west stairwell—no one ever used it, which meant no one would come to help him. Then again, even if there were people around, it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“People said you did something to Haein yesterday. What was it?”

“None of your business.”

“You piece of shit! Do you know how much Haein cried afterward?”

“Yeah, I do know.”

So what if she cried? Do you know how much I’ve cried? Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through these past two and a half years?

Yoonmin didn’t bother to voice his thoughts. Jian wouldn’t care anyway.

“You did something creepy, didn’t you? Did you hit on her or something?”

“Is that what Haein said?”

“Haein didn’t say anything!”

“Then why are you getting so worked up? If she didn’t say anything, it must not have been a big deal.”

He tried to walk away, but Jian slammed her fist into the wall, blocking his path. The thud of her knuckles hitting the wall sent a shiver of fear through Yoonmin. He’d heard that Jian won some kind of competition in boxing or taekwondo, or was it Muay Thai? Regardless, she had a trophy to prove she was fully capable of kicking his ass.

“You’re unbelievable. Spit it out. What did you do to make Haein cry? If it wasn’t a big deal, you should have no problem telling me.”

“Yeah? If it wasn’t a big deal, why didn’t you hear the story from Haein? She must not be too proud either, if she’s not saying anything.”

“Hey,” Jian snapped.

“What?” Yoonmin said defiantly.

“Do you want me to kill you?”

“What?”

“Do you have some kind of death wish? Otherwise, I can’t see why you would be talking like this.”

“How am I any different from Haein if neither of us is talking?”

“Haein is too kind and shy to say anything, you jerk!”

Of course, Yoonmin had expected this line of defense. In Jian’s eyes, Haein was the victim and Yoonmin was the perpetrator. The idea that he could speak up and proclaim his innocence was laughable.

There are people in this world who can’t defend themselves, no matter how innocent they are. And there are people who shout from the rooftops, even when they are guilty. It’s not about being in the right—it’s about having the power to speak. You need supporters to have a voice.

Still, after years of being an outcast, Yoonmin had developed a skewed countermeasure against the popular kids: black magic.

To Jian’s fury, Yoonmin scoffed.

“This is hilarious, Jian. Are you Haein’s lackey or something? Why are you acting like her bodyguard?”

“So what if I am, you bastard?”

“Haein’s a joke. She doesn’t have the guts to deal with things herself, so she sends her crony instead. It’s pathetic. We’re in high school, but she can’t handle her own problems? She just relies on her looks, and treats people around her like servants. It’s disgusting.”

As soon as the final word left Yoonmin’s mouth, Jian grabbed him by the collar.

“Haein didn’t tell me to do anything! Stop talking crap and answer me straight! What did you do to her?”

Her voice was hysterical, and her face flushed red. Perfect. This was exactly what Yoonmin had intended. If she got this worked up, some of her hair would fall to the ground. He could pick it up later and put it in a voodoo doll. That way, both the Law of Contagion and the Law of Similarity would apply. Oh, how he would curse Jian Kim... But what curse should he use? Maybe a curse that gave her uncontrollable diarrhea. He’d have to look it up when he got home.

“You want to know what I did?” Yoonmin asked, hot anger fueling his words. “Fine, I hit on her a bit.”

“What?” Jian asked through gritted teeth

“All I did was ask if I could touch her boobs.” If Yoonmin was going to be seen as a creep no matter what, he might as well have some fun with it. “She cried right away. It’s weird; her boobs are so big, she must have guys asking all the time…”

“You son of a—!”

Yoonmin didn’t hear the last word over the crack of Jian’s hand making contact with his cheek. It instantly felt like his face had gone up in flames. He raised a hand and rubbed at his throbbing cheek. Why had he gone with such a crude lie? Did he want to provoke her? Well, even if he had said something less offensive, the result would have been the same.

“What am I supposed to do with you now? There must be some way to have you kicked out of school. Hell, you deserve to be in handcuffs instead of a classroom.”

Yoonmin stayed silent, not wanting to encourage a second strike.

“That hurt, didn’t it, you bastard?” she sneered. “You better watch yourself from now on. If you even look at Haein again, I’ll beat the shit out of you.”

With her threat still resonating off the empty walls, Jian turned and stomped back up the stairs.

Yoonmin ran his fingers over his swollen cheek, then slumped down to the floor.

He had planned to collect Jian’s hair for a curse, but he realized that there were far too many stray hairs littering the floor. Should he just grab all of them to use in the curse? No, what did the other people do to deserve that?

Damn, do they even clean this place?

***

As soon as lunch started, Haein shot up from her seat.

That’s it, I don’t care what the others think. Today, I’ll figure out how to do it.

Energized and determined, she spun around. Yoonmin had been covering one side of his face all day. Why was he doing that? Did he have a toothache? They were no longer on speaking terms, so she couldn’t even ask why he was in pain. In the past, she could have asked him anything, but now…

Just as she was about to approach Yoonmin, someone grabbed her wrist.

“You’re going to talk to him, aren’t you?”

It was Jian.

“There’s no need,” she continued. “I already handled it.”

Haein felt a chill run through her chest, like cold water pouring across her body.

“What? Handled it? What do you mean?”

“That bastard won’t come near you again,” Jian reassured her, patting her hand.

Now Haein’s blood felt like ice. “…What?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

What is she talking about? She handled it? Is he never going to come near me again? In what world is that fine? That’s the complete opposite of fine! And what? ‘That bastard?’ Who gave her the right to call Yoonmin that?

As Haein’s thoughts raced, Yoonmin got up and strode out of the classroom. No, this wasn’t right, she needed to stop him… But there was a bigger issue at hand right now. Haein turned to Jian, her lips pressed tightly together.

“Jian, you… Did you do something to Yoonmin?”

“Yeah, you saw him holding his cheek, right?” Jian grinned, looking very satisfied with herself. “I taught him a lesson. That jerk thought he could mess with you just because he’s a guy… but not when I’m around.”

“Wait… Hold on…” Haein closed her eyes for a moment. “Did you… slap Yoonmin?”

Haein thought she could feel all the blood draining from her face. Her stomach went cold, as if she had swallowed a block of ice.

“We should go to the school violence committee,” Jian went on, oblivious to Haein’s horror. “Guys like him need to be put in their place so they can—”

“I’m asking if you hit him!” Haein half-shouted.

The classroom suddenly fell silent. It was the first time anyone had heard Haein raise her voice. Jian’s expression held the most shock. After all, she had just been proudly detailing her defense of Haein, only to be met with sudden anger.

“Uh… yeah…” Jian mumbled.

“Why?” Haein demanded. “Why would you do that?”

“Sorry, I know you don’t like violence, but that bastard deserved it—”

“Don’t call him that!”

Jian stared at her, mouth hanging open.

There were about ten students left in the classroom, five of whom usually hung out with Haein. All eyes were on her, but right now, she wasn’t aware of anyone else.

“Why did you hit him? Why?” she raged. “Who do you think you are?”

“I mean… that bastard… Yoonmin…” Jian stammered.

“What about him?” Haein hissed

“I heard he… was hitting on you….”

Jian’s voice trailed off as she stared at the floor, afraid to meet Haein’s eyes.

“Why do you act first and ask questions later? You didn’t even bother to learn the whole story.” Haein chewed a nail, anxiety cascading through her. “Hitting on me? Yoonmin? Why in the world would he do that?”

“Wait… it’s not true?” Jian asked, her eyes wide like a scolded puppy.

“It’s not true!”

“Then… what did he do?” she asked nervously.

“He didn’t do anything!” Haein yelled, frustration overtaking her.

She collapsed into her chair, burying her head in her arms on the desk.

“It’s me…” she said, her voice muffled. “I’m the one who did something wrong.”

Her voice was now laced with sobs. Jian stood awkwardly beside her, unsure what to do. Haein’s fingers twisted into her own hair, pulling at it as she pressed her forehead against the desk.

“It’s all over… He even got hit because of me… What am I supposed to do now…” she whispered through tears.

Jian paced nervously around Haein’s desk.

“I—I’m sorry, Haein.”

Haein didn’t respond, keeping her face shielded by the dark curtain of her hair..

“I’ll fix this somehow, okay?” Jian said, her words coming faster, more panicked. “I’ll—”

“What? You’ll what?”

When Jian was unable to form a response, Haein fell silent. She kept her head down for the entire lunch break.

She didn’t even bother to eat.

***

Damn, this hurts like hell.

Yoonmin rubbed his aching cheek as he crossed the schoolyard. As usual, Jiyoo was waiting by the school gate. It was sweet of her to wait for him every day, given how much she hated crowded places. On the rare occasions that Jiyoo was later, Yoonmin would return the favor and stand at the gate. Of course, that almost never happened with Yoonmin’s homeroom teacher, who was usually too busy berating and scolding his class to let them out on time.

How should I deal with Jian? I don’t have anything to use for a curse, no object to focus it on.

“Yoonmin, what’s wrong with your cheek?” Jiyoo asked, eyes filling with worry.

“The world is full of shit, that’s what.”

She tilted her head. “Your cheek is swollen because the world is full of shit?”

“Exactly,” he growled. “If the world were beautiful, people would listen to each other, no matter who they were. But the world’s a mess. Most people are morons who don’t bother to hear other people out.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, you’re right. Everyone is trash,” Jiyoo agreed.

“Total trash.”

“But that doesn’t answer my question about your cheek. Did someone hit you? Was it Haein?”

“It wasn’t her, but…” He paused. “Well, actually, it kind of was. Someone else hit me because of her.”

“What the hell! That girl betrayed you, and now she’s having you slapped around too? How can someone be so awful?”

“Because the world is full of shit,” Yoonmin repeated doggedly. “If it were a beautiful place, things would be different.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jiyoo sighed.

As they were talking, someone called out from behind them.

“Hey! Hold on a second, Yoonmin!”

Jiyoo stopped mid-sentence and peered behind him. “Yoonmin, someone’s calling you. Who’s that?”

“The filthy world.”

“Huh?”

Without turning to look, Yoonmin said, “Jiyoo, are you a fast runner?”

“No… I’m really slow.”

“Well, let’s give it a shot anyway.”

“Uh… okay?” Jiyoo said, confused.

Yoonmin grabbed her wrist and started running.