this is the 200th part in this book omg (including the prologue, unpublished chapters and extra notes) we've come far. yes, there's 33 unpublished chapters that could've turned this into a different plot.

anyway, HAPPY BOO DAY!!!!🎂✨💕
in this community, we all deeply love and appreciate boo seungkwan because he's such a precious human being with exquisite english skills and with a beautiful nonexistent daughter named jasmine. can i just say that seungkwan deserves all the love and success in the world? we're all lucky to have someone so sweet and beautiful and cheerful and talented and precious.

ANYWAY. i'm sorry because i suck at explaining things. bear with me. this chapter might get real confusing

-jrio
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mingyu had to go home first. he promised to show up at soonyoung's house with seungkwan, jihoon and wonwoo. i don't even know why jihoon is counted, he's not a specialized extracurricular execution squad member. but it's okay because junhui and chan couldn't come for the night.

it was only half past six when soonyoung and i reached home. i was tired and i wish to forget what happened back in school. zipping my bag open, i remembered that mingyu gave me the pouch before leaving because he didn't want to go home alone with it. might be bad luck. as for me, at least i have a companion.

"i'm tired," i yawned, lying down the couch to rest my head on the boy's lap "december is coming and it's finally going to get colder. i will be dead by january." soonyoung gently brushed my hair and spoke, "are you sensitive to the cold? i can just stay with you all day because i'm hot—"

"have you heard about the word narcissism?" i asked

"that's far from being honest, you know," he told me

"yeah i hate you a lot."

"you never changed," he laughed as he played with my hair "remember when you kept telling me that you hate me?"

"because who the hell would tell a girl to have netflix and chill at his home after embarrassing her in front of a crowd? who would steal a kiss from a girl when she's busy learning math with her crush? only you, kwon soonyoung. you snake, you knew that i liked hong but what did you do?"

"hey it's not my fault if you were getting distracted while learning with him," he replied "and how could you say that you liked him a lot if you wrote your number on my arm while i was asleep? that's like, cheating."

"i don't know," i gave up "there's a lot of boys in seventeen, how am i supposed to choose one!?"

"i actually thought you liked jihoon, not josh. because you were always with him before."

"who the hell would not like lee jihoon!?"

"damn right though. to be honest, i trust you with him. like, a lot." soonyoung chuckled "and i kinda miss our old friendship."

"when he wasn't extremely hating on you?"

"yes, but hey, we like each other more now. we're having a new song together and it's really good," he told me "you know, like that old hoshi woozi combi—"

"can you guys not talk about me when i'm here?"

soonyoung and i were surprised when we heard jihoon speak. there he was, seated on the window frame with his tilted head and swinging feet. what the hell is he even doing? i got up from my position and watched the small boy jump down from the frame and walk towards us. "move," he ordered, pushing soonyoung away

"hey, hey this is my house, i make the rules!"

"just move!" he raised his voice and sat down between us "mingyu called and told me to be here. where are they though?"

"they'll be here at 8pm"

"bitch didn't tell me about the time, i thought i was supposed to get here right now," he crossed his arms and handed the older boy some money "hey soon, go get some snacks for me."

"it's okay, my treat," soonyoung told him

"bitch, are you saying that i'm poor?"

"i didn't say anything, oh my god!"

"get your sugar daddy ass out of here, i don't fucking need one."

"but you need a dad—"

"get the fuck out!" jihoon kicked soonyoung off the couch and pushed him all the way to the front door. wow, i guess jihoon is the only one who can kick a person out of his own house. "don't come back here without food!you know what i like!!" the boy shouted before slamming the door shut. then he marched back to the sofa.

while soonyoung was gone, i talked to him about what happened earlier (well, except for what mingyu and i did) then i showed him the black muslin bag we got from jiwoo. jihoon snatched it from me and opened it to peek.

there was a thing covered in parchment paper and tied with yarn.

"this girl is fucking creepy, what did you hear her say again?"

"helistami balu stika? i think?"

"well damn, we really need wonwoo for this. who knew that his occult club membership would be a great help to seventeen?"

"i hope the spell isn't anything serious."

soonyoung came back with snacks shortly before wonwoo, mingyu and seungkwan finally arrived. soonhoon was too busy eating on the couch while the rest of us were on the floor, talking about what happened. i explained everything to wonwoo and he listened attentively. heck, he wasn't even blinking much.

"helistami balu stika is a black magic spell," he told me "to break up a couple. and did you say her name is kim jiwoo? because i've met her. remember when i told you that i became president of the black arts club? she ran as my rival."

"that bitch," jihoon muttered

"isn't black magic terrible?" seungkwan asked "this means danger oh my god! oh my god!"

"who will she break though? junhao?" i questioned. i mean, if she likes minghao a lot then junhui is the only person she would like to drive away. wonwoo was thinking deeply and all we could hear inside the house was jihoon and soonyoung's loud munching of their food.

"give me the bag, we have to find out who she casted it on." wonwoo ordered. i passed it to him and he placed the things on the ground: a black candle, a wooden match, an object covered with parchment paper and a needle. he looked at it for about half a minute, "hm, it will be easy to break it."

"why?"

wonwoo untied the yarn and a chicken wing was inside, "jiwoo sacrificed her blood and gathered up energy to— can you please stop eating out loud!?" he asked the two boys on the couch.

"sorry," soonyoung muttered

"thank you," wonwoo shook his head and continued to explain "then she used the chicken wing to write the couple's name on the paper. this spell will not work because it has to be buried on the same day. luckily, you guys have it now. however, her negative energy will remain."

"how could she forget to bury it?" mingyu asked

"maybe she just wanted to make it look like she has to go home early. and then when you left, she was supposed to come back. since her precious chicken is gone, i bet she's going to be casting something worse. probably on you, minseul. because you took it."

"so do we beat her up?" soonyoung asked

"no, we have to repel the casting and perform a healing process for you," wonwoo told me "and we have to get rid of these things. but first, we have to know the couple she wishes to break. if it's soongyu and jisoo, then the spell will be weak because it's not your real names."

"how? chicken wing doesn't have ink," mingyu uttered

"but it has oil, mingyu." wonwoo carefully unfolded the parchment paper and raised it up, facing the lights in soonyoung's living room. we noticed that it was slightly covered with wax and blood drops. wonwoo examined it for a bit before placing it back on the ground.

"i can't read it, but i saw an s and a min," wonwoo muttered "s could be anyone— seventeen, seungcheol, soongyu—"

"SOONYOUNG!" boo shouted "IT'S MINSEUL AND SOONYOUNG!"

"how?" mingyu asked "she knows her as jisoo, not minseul. min could also be minghao."

"idiot, min is different from ming," jihoon told the boy "you're korean and you've forgotten? what a shame."

"also, remember when she called me minseul? although we're not really sure if it's jisoo or minseul. but i heard my name," i added

"and remember 2ji? i knew it, she's obsessed with minseul," seungkwan crossed his arms "she's just using minghao as an excuse."

"if minghao is just an excuse, why the hell would she take language lessons to send him notes? that takes effort," mingyu stated

"come to think of it," wonwoo slammed his hands on the floor "jiwoo follows minseul around, calling her jisoo and all. minseul gets a broken glass in her shoe and 'surprisingly' hears a conversation of her classmates about putting it in there. and when she gets in trouble, jiwoo is there for her. coincidence? i think not. jiwoo planned it all out so minseul would agree to let her get close to minghao."

"but—"

"boo, shush, let me talk," wonwoo cut the boy off "number one, jiwoo must've thought that choi jisoo is attracted to minghao because when she met soongyu and jisoo, soongyu mentioned that they're trying to fix the relationship. and jiwoo told minseul that she saw her with minghao. number two, minghao normally calls minseul some nicknames like sleepyhead, short stuff or whatever and jiwoo uses it on her too. this might be an indication that instead of jiwoo stalking minghao because she likes him, in reality, she wants to be just like him— just like the boy she thought jisoo is attracted to."

"go on."

"three, if y'all think she's dumb for believing minseul as jisoo, then you're wrong. if jiwoo planned something about the broken glass along with minseul's classmates. she would know her real name. she would know about soonyoung. four, she plans to get close to minghao and attempts to get to know jun to capture the attention of performance team— to get to know soonyoung as well because he's the boyfriend. as she does this, she digests all of minghao's actions so she could be similar with him to get even closer to minseul. then after that, she would be copying soonyoung's attitude to get minseul's heart. five, liking minghao is an excuse to make her appear less creepy. because if she lets minseul know about her feelings, their connection might break. so she uses minghao and talks to minseul about him a lot so minseul would get the idea of how jiwoo is as a girlfriend— that she's really loving, caring and cute, just like who? just like soonyoung. and lastly, she uses a spell to break minseul and soonyoung up so she could have the girl for herself."

"wonwoo you're smart, i fucking love you," i told him

"i am speechless," jihoon muttered and clapped his hands "jjak jjak jjak, wonwoo."

"jiwoo likes minseul?" soonyoung asked "i'm gonna fight."

"no, you're not fighting her," wonwoo told him "you don't just fight with a person who knows how to use black magic. you might die. who will take care of seul?"

"jihoon will."

"come on, we have to take this seriously!" wonwoo announced "i don't use black magic but i've learned about it. we're not going to plot a revenge on the girl, but we're going to cast a protection."

"wonwoo casting spells? what a concept," mingyu laughed

"minseul, do you have something really valuable to you?"

"um, soonyoung gave me a promise ring—"

"great, always wear that thing. any piece of precious jewelry can weaken the effect of a curse," the boy told me as he searched for some stuff inside his bag "also, you have to take a bath."

"now!? but you told me it's dangerous to be alone!"

"don't be scared, we'll all wait for you here, come on. none of us could watch over you, obviously, even soonyoung," he replied

"but...ugh okay."

"i'll go prepare it for you," wonwoo stood up and went to the bathroom with a few things while i made my way to the room to get clothes and put my hair in a bun. after a few minutes, wonwoo finally stepped out of the room and told me to get in there for thirty minutes. "also, think of happy thoughts only," he muttered then walked away.

"good luck!" jihoon shouted as i closed the door. wow, just wow. the bathtub had candles around it and it looked like i was going to get sacrificed. a few more minutes dragged past and i was already soaked with the warm water. it was dead quiet and i felt uneasy, almost as if i could feel that jiwoo's presence was there.

i couldn't think of positive thoughts.

jiwoo is scarier than i thought. i can't believe that she's desperate to get too close to me. obviously, i kinda like daein more than her now because daein is a fucking person, not a witch. and she can't even do shit. all of a sudden, it became cold. i looked over to the small window at the topmost part of the wall and noticed that it was locked. how could it be cold? then i heard a whisper, which sent chills down my spine, but i kept my mouth shut anyway.

"choi, ji, soo!" i heard a clear voice from outside

i instantly let out a scream, hurrying off the tub and squeezing into my clothes even though i was dripping wet with whatever cleansing water wonwoo prepared. soonyoung rushed to the bathroom and started banging on the door, asking if i was okay. then i ran outside and found myself in his arms.

"hey it's okay, i'm here," he whispered. soonyoung carried me all the way to the living room and i couldn't even look at the boys. "what happened!?" seungkwan panicked

"um, wonwoo? since you're the only person who knows how to keep jiwoo away. can you stay for the night please?" soonyoung asked "i'm extremely worried."

"we'll all stay," boo answered "we're gonna fight jiwoo if we have to. that girl needs her taste of diva boo."

soonyoung took me to the room and placed me on the bed. then he took a clean towel to wipe my arms and legs. "you didn't completely dry yourself."

"do i have time?"

the boy sighed and gave me a tight hug, "what happened?"

"i heard jiwoo's voice outside. i can't even tell what's real or not anymore."

"it's okay, she can't enter this house. we got four bodyguards in the living room," he chuckled "and you got me!nothing can tear us apart, not even the most powerful black magic!!"

i closed my eyes and hugged him back, "i hope so. and i hope she doesn't go worse."

"i love you."

"i love you too."

"aw—"

"get the fuck out, seungkwan."

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i used to have a jiwoo type of friend who liked me when i was extremely young, she belongs to a really weird fam but she's not this worse omg. and i've had overly attached friends too. fucking painful

i searched things on breaking black magic spells but i have to pay $119 to get one so no, thank you.

kbyeilysm, don't be a jiwoo
-jiro