The Magic Shop

Chapter One

The deafening buzz of the school bell rang out, signaling the end of the school day, but no one budged. The teacher stood at the front of the classroom looking over the students who, like her, stared blankly. There was only the sound of the other students traveling through the hallway. A girl with straight black hair that dusted just past her shoulder and tied into a sloppy ponytail broke the mold. She turned and looked out the window at the dimming light outside.

"If you apply all you've learned today, we can increase our class scores." The teacher sighed turning to the board. "You are dismissed." She continued gathering her belongings and swiftly exited the room. The black-haired girl looked towards the board, lifelessly. The other students began to stand and leave, cheerfully. A short-haired girl approached the blank faced girl and stood before her, hands on hips. The black-haired girl looked up without shifting her head and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Mirae, could you clean off the board and sweep the room before you leave?" the short-haired girl asked turning to smile at another girl standing in the doorway. "It's not like you have anything better to do." The doorway girl snickered. The black-haired girl, Mirae, averted her eyes and nodded. She stood up and the two girls exited the room laughing. Mirae did not really mind staying after school to clean. She took any opportunity to stay away from home. In the back of the classroom was a closet with cleaning supplies. They were shared between the two classrooms, so she had to be quick with her cleaning.

She swept the floor. Taking every opportunity, she could to check for little coins or trinkets her classmates would drop while hurrying out of the room. After she finished sweeping, Mirae had collected a dollar and ten cents. She hurried to erase and wash the board, that was her favorite part of cleaning the room. Just as she finished cleaning, the hallways had cleared leaving just her and the few other students who stayed behind to clean their classrooms. Mirae packed up her school bag, which was old and faded, and threw it onto her back before slumping out of the classroom.

"Mirae!" the familiar voice of her teacher rang out. The girl turned to meet the concerned gaze of the instructor. The two inched closer as if neither wanted to interact. "This is the 5th week that you've stayed after school..." the teacher noted. Mirae looked away and crossed her arms, nervously. She knew what the teacher was about to ask, and she wanted so much to avoid the topic. "I really enjoy helping out." Mirae's voice was hushed, as if she had not spoken in a while. "Is everything okay at home?" the teacher quizzed, Mirae became stiff and gave a forced smile. "Yes, Mrs. Lee, home is fine." Her voice wavered as she spoke. The older woman stared into the girl's eyes in disbelief but dropped the subject to dismiss the girl.

"Alright then, you head home, and I'll see you tomorrow." She said rubbing the girl's shoulder. Mirae hurried out of the school building and ran down the street. She looked at her phone, 7:35. She had missed her bus and had to walk to her mother's job. The schoolgirl dialed her mother's number and hoped she would be okay with her being a little late. The call went straight to voicemail. While she waited for the light to change, a man on bicycle dropped his wallet. Mirae, who had witnessed the event, rushed to grab the wallet before someone else could. She looked around for the cycler and spotted him just down the street.

"Excuse me!" she called running after him, he gave no response and continued to bike on. She trailed him calling out for 5 minutes until he turned down an alley. The girl peaked into the damp and creepy alleyway. At the end of the alley, she saw the guy's bike and a mysterious light. Mirae checked her phone it was almost 8 o'clock and she had no missed calls or messages. The girl took a deep breath and headed into the alley. As she tiptoed through the wet area, Mirae could not help but get an odd feeling. She approached the bike, which sat in front of an oddly located shop. The shop was brightly colored and contrasted with the bleak looking alleyway.

Mirae mustard up the courage to walk into the shop. Inside it was bright and colorful and upbeat music played loudly, although she could not hear it from outside. The shop was empty, aside from signs and labels. The confused girl approached the counter, her heart punching against her chest wall. She fiddled with her uniform skirt before reaching to ring the service bell. As soon as her hand reaches the bell a man with black hair appears before her. The music hushes to a calm hum, the man leans onto counter and smiles a gummy grin. "How may I assist you?"

Mirae jumps back, startled. The man's smile fades and is replaced with a soft concerned look. "Welcome, to the Magic Shop!" the man exclaims walking around the counter and up to the still started girl. She holds out her hand which once contained a wallet, "You dropped your wallet." She says clinching her eyes shut. The man laughs and pushes the girl's hand back towards her chest. "That's not a wallet." Mirae's eyes shot open as she looked at a coupon that rested in her hand. "But...but..." she stutters. A table raises from the floor in the newly formed gap between this mysterious man and Mirae. "Have a seat..."

Confused, Mirae decides to oblige and sits across from the dark-haired man. He holds his hand out and instinctively Mirae places her hand in his. He grips her small delicate hand gently and looks her in her lowered eyes. The man caressed her hand and removed his from hers before standing. Mirae looked up at him questioningly. What is he doing? What am I doing here? I need to go, now. Mirae stood up and chuckled awkwardly and backed up towards the door.

"I have something," the man announced in a calm and eerie tone. "that can make you forget about your pain." He continued causing Mirae to pause and look at him. She was interested but wondered what he was talking about. What is the pain he spoke of; did he know something about her? The man's face twisted into an eager smile as the girl edged forward toward the counter. "Your mother has bruised more than your body..." the man declared with a sympathetic frown. Mirae's eyes widened in horror. How does he know? She asked herself. He holds out a small box that says tea in big bold characters.

"Drink this cup of tea while looking up at the sky and you'll be in a better place." The shopkeeper says matter-of-factly. Mirae's lips curl in disbelief as she accepts the box. She looks at the box, skeptically, tucks it into her jacket pocket. "Who are you?" she questions blinking at the satisfied looking man. He flashes her another goofy, gummy smile.

"I'm Min Yoongi, thank you for visiting the Magic Shop." He chimes. Suddenly there is a bright flash of light and a loud high-pitched siren sound. Mirae's entire body suddenly felt wet and sore. Her eyes opened to reveal a crowd of people surrounding her as well as her mother. "Are you alright?" a lady asked helping the shocked girl up. Mirae nodded and looked at her mother, who was glaring at her. It was just a daydream... Did I pass out or something? She wondered as she began towards her mother. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pocket and gasped. It was there, the box of tea. So... it was real?