SHOOTS | BLACKTAN

D A F F O D I L | NAMJEN

inspired by harry potter and kaguya-same: love is war.

ONE YEAR EARLIER

the ding of the doorbell resounded throughout the whole residence. jennie abruptly looked up from the pot of soup she stirring over the fire, its steam billowing into her face as she watched the line that represented the hallway of the household map turn gold. when she faintly heard the front door open, she returned to her tedious chore; adding ingredients as the soup continued to boil.

"good afternoon, sir," a young man greeted once the door in front of him was opened wide. he grinned and bowed, "my name is kim namjoon and i'm the current president of mabeob academy. do you happen to be mister kim han-gyeol?"

"yes, that's me," the middle-aged man smiled slightly in return, "it's a pleasure to meet you, namjoon."

"the pleasure is all mine." namjoon took the outstretched hand into his own. he retreaded his arm and rummaged through the pocket inside his coat. he fished out a folded piece of paper, just a little smaller than his palm; tarnished with stains brought about by old age. "i'm sorry to bother you on such a lovely saturday afternoon, but the department of magic has some concerns regarding a witch."

han-gyeol's eyebrows were knitted in confusion. "that sounds a bit serious. i wonder why they would send a student like you to handle that."

"the government figured that it's a matter the academy should handle. after all, it is in relations with a supposed student." namjoon handed the paper over to the man.

"what does this have to do with me?" han-gyeol's slowly wrinkling hands shook as he unfolded the sheet.

"this is the paper that contains the line of ancestry of the witch i was talking about," namjoon placed folded his hands behind his back, "of course, it is incomplete only stretching to four generations before her, but that's more than enough to determine her parents. you are the father of miss jennie kim, right?"

when jennie heard her name, the pot filled with tonight's dinner collapsed onto the floor, separating into sharp fragments layered with soup. jennie watched in shock and in terror as her father walked down the hallway into the dining area, screaming at her for her ineptness. his footsteps thundered against the wooden floorboards and she could do nothing more but kneel down onto the floor and earnestly beg for his forgiveness. her tears streamed down her face when she felt the glass remnants seeped into the skin of her knees, more so when he pulled at her hair.

"you incompetent bitch!" han-gyeol tugged at her locks even more, getting more enraged at every scream that escaped her mouth, "now, i have spend money on behalf of your carelessness! i let you stay under my roof and you repay it by breaking my belongings?"

"appa, please, no!"

"let her go, mister kim." the dashing young man standing from the house's threshold had now entered the premises, his wand fixated on the man assailing his own daughter so shamelessly.

"do not get involved with this, young man. tell your school that--"

"i'm afraid you don't have authority to prohibit her from doing that."

"what do you mean?! i'm her father!"

with a wave of his wand, a camera slowly made itself palpable. "our law states that abuse executed by a guardian revokes his role. he is then sent for prosecution and can be sentenced to jail. unlucky for you, i now have enough evidence for when the school decides to exhibit legal action."