The Magic Shop

Chapter Five

Mirae sat staring at the dingy white wall that stood firmly on the opposite side of the room. The ticking of an imaginary clock played in her otherwise thoughtless mind. She was cold, the tiny hairs that barely showed on her pale skin stood high in a sad attempt to warm the frail bruised girl. Suddenly, the image of her dark-haired Romeo cascaded into her thoughts. A weak smile inked across her once blank emotionless face. At that moment, the young girl had a thought. She threw herself to her closet and began eagerly rummaging through her school bag. She was determined to go back to that shop, The Magic Shop. From her beat up, old school bag she pulled a pink leather wallet. She only had fifteen dollars to her name, but she was willing to give it all for the chance to see Jungkook.

"Let's go, Mirae, nothing to lose." The girl muttered, pumping herself with the confidence she needed to get out the house. Mirae dressed herself in a pair the white shirt and black shorts that Jungkook had given her and grabbed her teddy bear. After a few deep breaths, Mirae rushed out the front door and into the elevator. A wave of fear and concern washed over the girl, but she fought it back with her determination. It was obsessive urge that she could not fight off. Her feet pitter patted through the various puddles that littered the ground as she weaved through the crowded street of her neighborhood. A few people gave her concerned and disgusted looks, but she paid no mind to these people. The water squished under her bare feet, in a rush to leave, Mirae did not think to put on shoes.

Her vision was blurred in a sort of tunnel state. She was fighting to get to where she wanted, no, needed to be. There was a voice in the back of her head telling her what to do and how to do it. "Turn left!" the voice was dark, but familiar. "Do it now!" it was demanding and terrifyingly so, but Mirae could not ignore it. Another voice called out to her, but it was barely audible. A bright light flashed beside the girl and a blaring horn sounded, shocking the teen. A swift tug on the back of her shirt removed the girl from the light and brought her vision back. She could see people gawking at her and a familiar looking boy. Her mind was foggy, but Mirae definitely knew this boy's face, his ash-grey hair was setting off alarm bells in her head. "You have to be more careful." The boy's deep voice sighed; it was the guy from the bus! She looked away from the boy and into the faces of the onlookers. A black-haired woman lacked a face, where her face should have been being just a twisted blurry mess.

Mirae looked back at the boy, but he was not there. Instead in his place was the bus driver, she knew it had to be him because of his orange-brown hair. She blinked a few times feeling herself getting lightheaded. The feeling was similar to when she drank the tea, but for some reason, Mirae felt a since of doom. She looked back at the bus driver, opening her mouth to speak only to find that he had been replaced with the park's security officer. "Always causing trouble, huh, Mirae?" the man asked with a chuckle. Mirae was confused, she had not spoken to this man enough for him to know her by name. He extended his hand to help her up, just like that first day. The girl gave him a weak smile and accepted his help and teetered to her feet. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so much trouble." Mirae murmured tucking her hands behind her back. The onlookers slowly started to disperse, and the security office excused himself.

"That was strange." Mirae whispered to herself as she safely crossed the street. She was surprised that she was already in front of her school without taking the bus. From here the trip to The Magic Shop is a straight five-minute jog. The dark-hair girl felt her body perk up while following her previous footsteps that lead her to the shop on day one. After five minutes, Mirae found herself nervously standing outside the bleak alley that houses the mysterious store. The neon lights were notably absent tonight, which raised a lot of questions with the girl, but she forced herself into the damp alley way. The alley water washed over her bare feet as she made her way down to path. "Just down there." That demanding voice called out to her. "Forward?" she asked, and the voice hummed a satisfied tone.