Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Haseul met the love of her life when she was a freshman in college.

Even though she was the one who was supposed to be receiving help, Haseul couldn’t stop herself from trying to help others move in. Without any of the upperclassmen even realizing, Haseul had quickly become a part of the orientation team, who welcomed incoming freshmen.

After helping a nervous boy carry his things to his room on the fifth floor, Haseul was taking a well-deserved rest when she was approached by a girl with pink hair.

“E-excuse me?” the girl said in broken Korean. Haseul, looking up to respond, felt herself at a loss for words. The girl in front of her was the most gorgeous woman Haseul had ever seen. She was a true beauty in Haseul’s eyes. And that was saying something: she was best friends with Ha Sooyoung!

“Y…yeah?” Haseul lamely responds. She berates herself and curses her lack of competency near pretty girls.

“Do you know…where Building 56 is?” the pink-haired girl asks.

“It’s past that clocktower,” Haseul vaguely points in a direction, her eyes never leaving the stranger’s face. “It’s a blue building just behind the clocktower. Impossible to miss.” Haseul mentally thanked one of the random sophomores who shared this tidbit of information with her.

“Ah thanks,” the girl says, nerves still evident.

“Let me show you!” Haseul jumps at the chance. The other girl slightly recoils in surprise, but gives an appreciative smile.

“That’d be nice. I’m Vivi.”

“I’m Haseul.”

It was a meeting straight out of a movie, Haseul thought as she guided the other girl to Building 56. It was a quick walk, but it was enough for Haseul to find out that Vivi was a business major from Hong Kong. She had always wanted to study in Korea after watching Kpop videos and becoming engrossed in the culture.

They get to the building sooner than Haseul hopes.

“Well, this is me,” Vivi says while idly swinging her arms. “Do you want to exchange numbers? Maybe we can get a meal?”

Haseul was gobsmacked. Day one of college and a pretty girl was already asking her out? This was insane.

“Y-yeah! Definitely!” Haseul practically throws her phone at Vivi. The two part ways with smiles and rapidly beating hearts.

And their love story continues beautifully. The two start with a strong friendship that eventually evolves into a full-blown romance, complete with unsuccessful wingmen (Sooyoung tries her best), awkward meetings (Haseul didn’t mean to spill juice on Vivi’s ex, Jinsoul), and raising children (not really, but Haseul declares Yeojin and her group of friends to be their children). By the time the duo graduate college, they were prepared to spend the rest of their lives together.

And they did. But it turned out their lives together were far shorter than Haseul’s life alone.

Vivi had departed one night to attend a photoshoot. As a successful model, Vivi’s schedule was more variable compared to Haseul’s. And that meant sometimes traveling late at night on a Friday. Unfortunately, the end of the work week meant that there were plenty of people celebrating with alcohol and not always making the best decisions.

One of those decisions was to drive drunk and crash into Vivi’s Uber. Her arms were twisted into odd angles. Various glass shards embed themselves into her chest. But it didn’t end up mattering. She died instantly.

There wasn’t any chance to say goodbye. Just like that, and Haseul’s lover was torn away from her, as if someone simply turned off a switch labeled “Vivi.” And that switch took away all of the light in Haseul’s life.

The funeral was painful. Even Hyunjin, who rarely cried, was bawling. Haseul couldn’t think of anything more miserable than having to gather with her friends to mourn their collective loss.

And then she had to keep living. Haseul had to return to an apartment meant for two. Sleep in a queen-sized bed meant for two. Cancel dates and vacations meant for two. Haseul was living half the life she had once been.

She started turning down invitations to hang out. Her workplace, a music production company, gave her time off to mentally recover. But Haseul simply couldn’t find any reason to get her out of bed. She couldn’t think of any music without crying. She felt like she lost everything all at once.

Yeojin, Haseuls’ younger sister, decided that something needed to be done. Recruiting the help of her friends, Yeojin began intensively researching a way to get Haseul back on her feet. And it quickly became evident that nothing other than Vivi herself would make Haseul smile again.

So that’s what they decided to do.

…

“Unnie!” Yeojin screams, barging into Haseul’s apartment. “Unnie, where are you?” Looking around after taking off her shoes, Yeojin realized how quickly the place had dilapidated.

The apartment was a mess. Objects were scattered everywhere. The kitchen was full of unwashed dishes. Pictures that were previously hung on the wall now lay on the ground. Looking around, Yeojin realized that all of the scattered objects once belonged to Vivi. It was like Haseul had been trying to collect every reminder of Vivi and absorb whatever memory or fragment may have remained in those things. And all that was left was the ruins of their home. Haseul really should’ve cleaned up.

Well, Vivi had always been the cleaner of the couple.

Yeojin navigates the various piles of memorabilia on the ground and made it to the bedroom.The bedroom was even worst and she can already hear both Jungeun and Vivi tsk-ing inside her head. In the center of the room was a large bump covered by the blanket.

Yeojin sneaks over and slyly pokes the top of the pile. There was a small “eep” before the bundle began moving. From the blanket emerged a haggard looking Haseul. Her hair was sticking all over the place from lack of care, and her doe-like eyes were overshadowed by the large eyebags underneath them. Yeojin took note of the flannel Haseul was wearing, and remembered it being one of Vivi’s favorites.

Rather than a greeting, Haseul emitted a disgruntled growl.

“Nice to see you too, sis,” Yeojin says carefully. While part of her wanted to tease the older for her appearance, she had enough sense not to. Haseul was still grieving. And while she may need a kick in the ass to get her going again, she certainly didn’t need any negativity. “I have something to talk about…”

Haseul closed her eyes and rolled her head back. “Please Yeojin, just let me rest.”

“Haseul, it’s been weeks. I know you deserve some time to recover, but I need to tell you about this idea I had…”

“Nope!” Haseul is quick to deny Yeojin. “I don’t want to hear any dumb ideas for cheering me up. I had such a lousy time with Jinsoul at the aquarium, no offense to her of course.”

“Okay, well even I knew it’d be a terrible to take you see some fish.”

“No, it was fine. I was being too harsh. Jinsoul was just thinking she could talk for hours about fish and I wouldn’t have to do much. It was really sweet. But I saw the fish, and fish are animals, and Vivi loved animals…”

Haseul quickly began to breathe heavier and she pulled the flannel around her more tightly.

“Anyways,” Yeojin continues, giving Haseul an awkward side-eye. “I know this is crazy…but I have an idea. We found it in a spellbook we bought for cheap a month ago. Now hear me out…”

“No.” Haseul says resolutely. “No more magic. The last time you guys tried to help us, you shrunk Jungeun to the size of an apple. For a week.”

“It was an accident, and it was only because Chaewon got lazy about reading the whole thing!”

Haseul shook her head. It shocked her how much she had come to accept that her little sister was a witch. Well, Yeojin and her gang preferred the term sorceresses, but Haseul thought they absolutely deserved to be called witches for the trouble they caused. Somehow Hyejoo had convinced Yeojin, Yerim, and Chaewon to study dark magic from a random assortment of books they came across. And lo and behold, the four girls became actual sorceresses.

In fact, the group became notorious pranksters in college, but only the rest of their friend group knew that the pranks were tied to magic. Though it seemed impossible, the four were in fact quite powerful and capable sorceresses capable of miraculous feats. They were thankfully reined in by their unnies, who diligently stopped them from doing anything too illegal and taught them to act morally.

Until now.

“Unnie, please hear me out!” Yeojin says, adopting a very serious expression. “I wouldn’t joke about this. Not after Vivi-unnie passed away.”

Haseul flinched harshly, and Yeojin gave her sister a sympathetic look.

“I know it’s fresh. And I know you’ve been so devastated to the point of not being able to even live. And that’s why I’m doing literally the only thing I can. It’s really risky, but I guarantee we’ll get it right.

“We found a spell to bring her back. We can revive Vivi-unnie.”

The world around Haseul froze.

Haseul promised herself to respectfully stay away from Yeojin’s magic. While she didn’t approve of it, the group had proven themselves to be responsible enough to not do anything evil. She just wasn’t interested in having it complicate her own life. She had always believed hard work and positivity was all she needed to get through life. It’s how Sooyoung landed her job choreographing. How Heejin and Hyunjin maintained their friendship even after attending different colleges.

How Vivi left home to pursue a life and job in Korea. It was one of her favorite things about Vivi. The unwillingness to take shortcuts. The strength to make it through diligence alone.

But Haseul couldn’t help but be intrigued by Yeojin’s last sentence. She looked at the picture on her bedside. It was a photo of both Vivi and herself at a small party at the end of their freshman year in college. Despite being so young, they both were incredibly serious about one another. Even then, Haseul had promised Vivi (she was a little drunk okay) that she’d do anything for her.

That promise echoed in Haseul’s mind as she felt her heart beat at the prospect of another chance.

“…let’s do it.”

…

“Uh, I’m starting to have second doubts…”

Haseul feels regretful for allowing Yeojin’s friend group to take over the apartment. After they had dutifully cleaned up the mess Haseul made, they immediately began preparing a large summoning circle.

“It’s really annoying to draw the circle over this painter’s tape. Did we really have to put it down?” Hyejoo grunts, annoyed.

“Yes! Haseul-unnie is renting and we need to make sure she gets her deposit back! Summoning circles leave marks you know!” Yerim cheerfully says. The contradiction in Yerim’s tone and her actions made Hyejoo shake her head. If you heard her tone, you would think Yerim was doing a normal arts and crafts project instead of planning to resurrect the dead.

“Unnie, pay attention,” Chaewon interrupts, waving a hand in front of Haseul’s pensive face. “You need to make sure you do everything right for this spell.”

“And there are a lot of other things you have to know about logistically,” Yeojin adds. “Remember, you’re sharing your lifeforce with her. You’re going to be a lot more tired and weaker because your life is supporting two bodies. And the division of lifeforce depends on your proximity to Vivi-unnie.”

The two continue to restate the specifics of the spell, and Haseul does her best to focus.

Finally, Hyejoo and Yerim finish drawing the circle and allocating the appropriate ingredients in their respective spots (Yerim looks a little too happy to be placing a jar of animal blood on the floor).

“Alright! Showtime!” Yerim declares. She drags Hyejoo away and indicates where Haseul should sit. Haseul nervously moves to her designated spot. She suddenly regrets not asking Sooyoung or Jungeun to come over and supervise this alongside her. But she suspects they wouldn’t allow her to get this far. Maybe it wasn’t too late to call Jinsoul…

“Unnie!” Yeojin shouts, breaking Haseul out of her trance. The older looks at her younger sister, who is strangely very focused and serious today. Usually all of their spells and experiments were solely motivated by how much fun they could have. So to see Yeojin take this more seriously automatically makes Haseul more worried.

“This’ll work,” Yeojin assures her. “I promise.”

Haseul doesn’t look convinced, causing Yeojin to pout.

“She’s right unnie,” Hyejoo calls out from her hiding spot in the kitchen. “She’s been up for the past week studying this spell.”

Yeojin starts yelling at Hyejoo about exposing her lies about studying for classes, but Haseul tunes it out. I gotta have faith in Yeojin, Haseul thinks. If it’s for Vivi…then I’ll try anything!

So Haseul pulled herself together and made sure to mentally recall all of Chaewon’s guidance. As Haseul was collecting her final thoughts, the other girls moved into position. Behind the couch.

Haseul sits down and puts her hands together, like she was praying. Well, here goes nothing! She whispers the chant with the exact pronunciation and enunciation taught to her, and immediately saw the effects. The circle on the ground lit up. The animal blood Yerim had used quickly disappeared. Haseul herself began to feel different.

It was impossible to describe. It was a mix of fear and power. There was a sudden strength coursing throughout every part of her body. Even her head felt strong, and Haseul didn’t even know that was possible. Yet she also felt exceptionally nervous. Like the butterflies in her stomach had grown two times in size.

Haseul focuses and repeats the incantation. Suddenly, Haseul feels like lighter, like something is physically pulling her off the ground. She shakes off the sensation and focuses on imagining Vivi, just like Chaewon explained.

Sure enough, a bright light engulfs the room, forcing Haseul to close her eyes. But she keeps her hands clasped and keeps thinking about Vivi. Mentally Haseul was going through all of the memories they had together. Every smile. Every tear. And finally, the final sight of Vivi in her coffin.

The last memory almost caused Haseul to cry, but she suddenly felt the pulling sensation disappear. She opens her eyes again and notes the light beginning to fade.

As the light gradually dimmed, Vivi materializes in the air above the circle. Haseul’s jaw falls open at the sight. We really did it, Haseul thinks. We brought Vivi to life!

Vivi immediately begins falling, and Haseul leaps forward to catch her before she can hit the ground. The girl was not moving, and Haseul started worrying Yeojin had mixed her spell up with a teleportation one again. She was going to cry her lungs out if she had to bury Vivi again.

But suddenly, the skin around Vivi’s eyes wrinkle, and soon she started slowly moving. Haseul stopped breathing, worried that anything she did would wake her from this sight.

Finally, Vivi’s eyes opened. She looked around before suddenly scrunching up tightly. She grimaced as if she had woken up after a long night of partying. Vivi looked so uncomfortable and tense that Haseul was worried that something had gone wrong with the spell. It was as if she was fighting off some sort of pain.

Eventually Vivi’s eyes opened again and she made eye contact with Haseul’s. The latter had yet to breathe and she began worrying that Vivi had somehow lost her memories. Oh god, she thought. We’re gonna end up like those cliché fanfics about someone getting amnesia!

But as Vivi stared into Haseul’s eye, Haseul’s formerly deceased girlfriend gave a strained smile.

“Haseul…” Vivi hoarsely calls out.

Haseul finally took a breath. And immediately started bawling. She buried her face into Vivi’s neck and started shaking from the force of her sobs. Vivi took a minute move her arms: in fact, they were incredibly shaky. But still, Vivi managed to weakly hug Haseul back and pat it comfortingly.

From the side, Chaewon and Yerim were in tears, holding one another at the sight. They had thought they would laugh at Haseul’s tears of joys, but they were forced silent at the emotional sight.

Hyejoo, though also emotional, looked at Yeojin. The younger had a huge smile on her face that could only be described as euphoric. Whether it was from the success of the spell or seeing her sister’s smile, Hyejoo wasn’t sure. But she decided it didn’t matter.

“Good job Yeojin,” Hyejoo says quietly. The latter, not looking away, put up a fist. Hyejoo bumped it in return.

…

There were mixed reactions from their friend group.

While everyone is happy to see Vivi again (the reunion is full of tears and hugs), the older members can’t help but feel a bit of unease.

“Vivi, no offense, but I think they’ve gone too far this time,” Sooyoung says adamantly. Usually the responsibility of keeping the maknae witch line in check was Haseul, but the latter was far too busy doting on her revived girlfriend. “We can’t just bring people back from the dead! That’s a huge moral dilemma! People have probably written so many papers about this kind of thing! I haven’t read any of them, but I’m sure it’s highly debated!”

“I mean, that may be ethically complicated, but that only really matters if we’re considering if they’re gonna revive other people? I think? No one is around to get actually mad right? Unless there’s a God…oh my God, Vivi did you meet God? You definitely went to heaven, right?” Heejin is a mess as she tries to wrap around the implications.

“To be quite honest…I don’t remember anything in between the crash and being revived,” Vivi softly replies. While Vivi is happy to be the center of attention, she isn’t sure if being proudly displayed like a successful science experiment counts.

Jinsoul suddenly fist pumps. “HAH!” Jinsoul interjects. “Checkmate Christians! Atheists win!”

“Whoa whoa whoa! What if Vivi just isn’t allowed to remember? If there’s so many complicated rules to get to heaven, then there may be complicated rules for coming back,” Heejin responds.

“But I’m pretty sure Jesus remembered heaven when he rose from the dead,” Jiwoo adds. “Though I don’t remember if that was in the King James version of the bible or…”

Chaewon slams her hand on the table of the café they’re visiting. “Uh hello?! Are you guys not gonna praise us? We brought Vivi back from the dead! That’s total badass witchcraft!”

“Yeah!” Yerim adds. “I think it’s time you guys give us the respect we deserve! As fully realized witches!”

Yeojin tries to start a witch chant that only Hyejoo indulges in. Jungeun starts yelling at them to keep it down since they’re in a public place, and Chaewon calls her a boomer. The rest of the group laughs for the first time in what feels like months.

While the group continues their amusing banter, Vivi reaches over to put an arm over Jungeun’s shoulder. Despite being the oldest, Vivi was fond of physical contact and touchy in a positive way. And despite being the oldest, none of the members would ever reject a hug from the eldest.

But as Vivi reaches over, Jungeun suddenly leaps from her chair. Vivi, similarly surprised, wrenches her arm back as the rest of the group looks up at the sudden movement and noise.

Jungeun seemed petrified while Vivi just looked lost. Haseul could immediately sense her own adrenaline begin to heighten. This must be what Chaewon was talking about. We really are more connected. Vivi’s scared and I feel it too.

Haseul immediately proceeded to move closer to Vivi to put a comforting hand on Vivi’s shoulder.

“Uh, what just happened?” Yeojin asked.

“Oh,” Jungeun finally says. “I was just…surprised. Vivi was just…kinda cold?”

Everybody paused for a second before Yerim put slapped her open palm with a closed fist.

“OH! Yeah, that’s because Vivi is technically still kinda dead? So of course she’s not warm!”

And everybody paused again to ground themselves. They had been so elated to see Vivi again, but Yerim was right. Vivi wasn’t alive. Even in this state, she was merely an extension of Haseul. Things were going to be different, and the group simultaneously realized that even with Vivi back in this capacity, things have changed considerably.

“I-I’m sorry unnie!” Jungeun suddenly exclaims. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward.”

Vivi waved a hand and gave a small smile. “No, it’s my fault. I’m not used to…this. I’ll try and keep my hands to myself more.”

“No no, you don’t have to!” Jungeun quickly tries to comfort Vivi.

“Yeah, if there’s anybody who needs to control themselves, it’s Jiwoo,” Hyunjin is quick to say. Jiwoo, aghast, starts an argument with Hyunjin while trying to lean over two people to give Hyunjin a hug. This gets the group going again and normalcy returns.

Haseul gives Vivi a quick glance, asking if she was okay through her eyes. Vivi just nods and gives Haseul a smile while moving to grasp Haseul’s hand. For the rest of the night, Vivi didn’t touch anybody besides Haseul.

…

It’s quiet as the pair get ready for bed.

It was weird, but Vivi could still sleep. It was one of the few human things that she could still do. As Yeojin had explained: “I mean of course she can sleep! That’s what she was essentially doing before we brought her back!”

So the duo prepared to go to bed. They get into their pajamas, consisting of a light t-shirt and shorts, and climb into bed.

Haseul automatically finds herself reaching over to hold her girlfriend, but is caught off-guard by how cold Vivi’s no-longer-living limbs are. She fails to suppress a shudder and tenses.

Vivi quickly notices and is reminded of the incident with Jungeun. For the rest of the day, she had been more reserved about skinship, even with Haseul. She couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it made her friends to touch her cold exterior. Not only did it hurt to see her friends’ reactions to physical contact, but it also made her sad that she was unable to engage in the same familiar habits with her love ones. Vivi loved hugs and cuddles.

But she was reminded that she was no longer technically alive, and nobody was keen on embracing a corpse.

“Oh…” Vivi looks sheepish. “We don’t have to cuddle. It’s probably not nice hugging an ice cube in bed…”

Haseul looked heartbroken. Her girlfriend shouldn’t have to feel ashamed over something she can’t control. It was Haseul who made the choice to bring her back. It was her responsibility to make sure Vivi could live normally.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Haseul. She leaped out of bed and ran to the closet. Vivi sat up, staring curiously at the back of her girlfriend as she fumbled through all her outfits.

Haseul came back to bed wearing sweatpants and a large sweatshirt. She quickly returned to bed and resumed hugging Vivi. With the insulation, Haseul barely minded Vivi’s cold limbs. Vivi, shocked at Haseul’s choice, could only gawk at her girlfriend.

“Uh, are you sure you want to wear all of that to bed?” In fact, Vivi could remember how eager Haseul was always quick to shed her outfits and sleep in bed with the bare minimum.

“I used to. But with this on, I can hardly tell how cold you are to touch. I know this isn’t the life we dreamed of when we started dating. But I’m so happy you’re back. And the way we used to do things? Those are just things we did. Those things we did are replaceable. You’re irreplaceable.”

If Vivi’s heart was still beating, she was sure it would have skipped a beat. She could only marvel at how accommodating and loving Haseul was, even if Vivi was some sort of zombie. She couldn’t think of any words to express her gratitude, so Vivi opted to just snuggle herself into the soft fabric of Haseul’s favorite sweatshirt.

“I love you,” Vivi whispers.

“I love you too.”

As sleep finally came to the duo, Haseul sighed contently. This will work out, she thought. We’ll make it work. Haseul was willing to go whatever distance it was to make this work.

She didn’t know what to do if it didn’t.

Chapter Text

Life changed.

Vivi coming back was a huge boon for Haseul. It was indescribable. To have that aching hole in Haseul’s life filled once again by her love was an incredibly rejuvenating feeling. Haseul quickly bounced back from her horribly depressed state to her lively and cheerful self.

But there were caveats. For one, her physical health took a huge hit. It was inevitable: Vivi and Haseul shared a life now. And while Haseul was never an exceptionally active person like some of her friends, many of those options were no longer possible.

It was like they shared a well of energy. If they wanted to do anything, they would have to pull from the same source. If Haseul wanted to exercise, it meant that Vivi didn’t have any energy leftover to go on walks. If Vivi decided wanted to hike, Haseul would often be too exhausted to go to work.

Though Haseul had insisted that they should even split their more active work periods, Vivi forced Haseul to keep living.

“You know I’m dead, right?” Vivi calmly stated. Haseul would simply clench her fists and stare at the ground. She hated hearing that. Sure, Vivi was technically a walking corpse. But who cares? She’s here now. They’re together now. It didn’t matter.

Still, Vivi had a logical argument: it’s not like she could walk around Seoul when several of her friends/coworkers believed her to be six feet underground. So Haseul proceeded to live most of her life as normally as possible, even returning to work. In the meanwhile, Vivi stayed home to conserve energy.

Vivi slept a lot nowadays. It wasted no energy and there wasn’t much else for her to do in the meanwhile.

“Doesn’t it get lonely? Aren’t you bored?” a worried Jiwoo asks. She and Sooyoung had come to visit and check in on the reunited couple. Currently, Haseul and Sooyoung were arguing in the kitchen on how to ice a cake.

“Sometimes,” Vivi softly admits. She hated to burden Haseul, especially after hearing how devastated she was. “But I figure it’s better than being dead.”

Jiwoo is stunned silent at that. She notes how she’s been unsure what to say to Vivi sometimes. Usually hanging with Vivi was filled with comfortable silences: Vivi was ready to talk but never pressed for conversation. She had always been a reliable companion and practically oozed comfy.

But now it felt like Vivi was a lot less present. Like a ghost on the outskirts of the conversation instead of being actively involved. Vivi had insisted she was just trying to minimize her expenditure of energy, but something still seemed off about the eldest to Jiwoo.

The quiet was broken by Haseul and Sooyoung returning with their finished cake slices. Jiwoo eagerly takes a slice and moves to pass it to Vivi. But Vivi shakes her head with a sad smile.

“You don’t want cake, unnie?” Jiwoo asks curiously. Vivi loved sweets.

“Ah,” Haseul says, suddenly realizing she forgot to mention something. “Actually, Vivi can’t eat anymore.”

Sooyoung and Jiwoo both blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?” Sooyoung manages to ask.

“I don’t…exactly have a working digestive system anymore,” Vivi clarifies.

“How…does that even work? Does everything else work?”

“Unsure…Yeojin never specified.”

“…I can’t even wrap my head around that.”

“But hey!” Haseul interjects. “No more menstrual cramps!”

Sooyoung and Jiwoo, unsure of how to respond, redirect their attention towards eating. The apartment is barely filled with the sounds of forks lightly scraping against plates.

“Keep her away from Jinsoul in case she decides to experiment on Vivi,” Sooyoung quietly says.

“I know,” Haseul responds.

…

“Oh, what are you watching?” Haseul, after changing, sits next to Vivi. The eldest automatically moves her hand to hold Haseul’s. The latter had gotten used to Vivi’s colder touch and now barely minded.

“It’s an anime. Heejin recommended it. It’s called Madoka Magica. You would think it’s just a cute show about magical girls fighting evil monsters. But there’s actually a lot more going on than I expected.”

Vivi hadn’t bothered to look at Haseul during her explanation, which made Haseul laugh at how cute Vivi’s focused expression was. “Great, I can’t believe my girlfriend is a weeb now. As if one in our group wasn’t enough.”

Vivi gives an adorable pout, causing Haseul to cuddle Vivi. “I’m kidding. We won’t bully you as much as we do with Heejin. Well, Yeojin might.”

“She’s been giving me a pass since the funeral, so I guess this was inevitable,” Vivi sighed. “At least it’s a sign that things are going back to normal. Speaking of which…”

Haseul gets off Vivi to focus on the conversation. “Our favorite witches want to unveil their newest trick. Says they’re gonna use it for a big prank at school. Do you want to watch?”

“Hmm…are you gonna be okay? Last time we went to watch them do magic, we were both really winded afterwards.”

“Well…I was thinking that you should go alone. I’ll stay home.”

Haseul’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What? Why not? I know I get stressed when I watch them and that makes it hard for us but…you shouldn’t feel unwelcome!”

Vivi places a hand on Haseul’s leg to soothe her. “It’s not about that. I just don’t want you to miss out on this stuff. Back to normal, right?”

Haseul shook her head. “Nope! Back to normal means being with my girlfriend. And making sure that she’s safe and sound. I totally get that you want me to keep living my life the same way…but nothing is more important to me than you. And even if we have to go out a little less, I’m happy. Because I have you!”

“Haseul…” Vivi pouts again. Though she wouldn’t admit it, Vivi was so touched by Haseul’s continued devotion. She already knew from that time Haseul decided to travel an hour by train to get takeout from that famous Hong Kong restaurant, but it was Haseul kept on topping herself. But she couldn’t help but worry. It was dangerous to give so much of yourself to anything.

Still, Haseul refused to relent on this. “So let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ll go to the next one, okay? Instead, let’s just watch this anime of yours. It looks super cute! Especially the blue-haired girl!”

Vivi gives Haseul an unsure look, but Haseul has decided to focus on the TV. She also suddenly loses interest in continuing the conversation, and decides to accept Haseul’s choice. Vivi lays her head on Haseul’s shoulder and starts the show from episode 1. We’ll be okay, Vivi thought. Next time.

…

Yerim takes her phone and calls Haseul. It was that time of the month. Yerim and Haseul had been friends growing up, and one of their favorite activities was going on hikes together. Though college and work made it difficult to do consistently, the two always made arrangements to go climb up Namsan mountain. They’d enjoy some great street food at the top before taking the shuttle down.

It was a way for the two to catch up and discuss just about anything. It also gave Yerim an opportunity to look for rare plants to use in their various spells and rituals. The others were too lazy to accompany her, but Haseul was always willing to make the trek.

Haseul finally picked up. “Hello?”

“Unnie, it’s me, Yerim!”

Haseul laughs on the other end. “Ah of course. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to check-in and see if we were still good for this weekend for our hike? Yeojin’s been bugging me to get more wild lily pads and I figure now is a good time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Yerimmie!” Haseul says sincerely. “It totally slipped my mind. I don’t think I’ll make it. You know Vivi came back and we’re trying to figure out how to make things work…”

Yerim mentally facepalms. She had totally forgotten. “That’s totally fine unnie! It slipped my mind completely too. You and Vivi take care of yourselves first. We can always find another time!”

“Ok, thanks for understanding! I’m really sorry again! I’ll treat you to something the next time I see you!”

“Sounds good. Well, I’ll talk to you later then!” Haseul shouts a warm goodbye and Yerim hangs up the phone.

Well I guess that was inevitable, Yerim thought to herself. With Vivi around, it’ll be tough for Haseul to get out now. She gets off her bed and moves to look for one of her roommates. Maybe I can drag Yeojin do get them herself!

…

When Haseul entered the apartment, the fresh aroma of kimchi stew quickly caught her attention. Entranced, Haseul quickly removed her shoes and dropped her bag off before proceeding to the kitchen. The sight immediately soothed her tired body.

Vivi was in the kitchen, wearing a cute, pink apron. She was exceptionally focused on the dish while humming a ballad from the drama she had started watching. Haseul, making sure her footsteps were loud enough to be heard, strolled over and engulfed her girlfriend with a backhug.

“Hey,” Vivi greeted warmly. “You should take a seat, I’m almost done with the food.”

Haseul cutely shook her head. “Nope. I’m too comfortable right now.”

Vivi chuckled and Haseul reveled in how she could feel the vibrations throughout her own body. The duo proceeded to move as one as Vivi set the table and brought the food over. Already accustomed to Haseul’s strange affection, Vivi easily finished the meal prep, and dropped off Haseul in her chair.

“You’re such a baby sometimes,” Vivi teased. Haseul simply smiled gleefully.

“Well, if I’m a baby, then you’re gonna feed me, right?”

Vivi rolled her eyes but her persisting smile gave away her true feelings. She gave Haseula spoonful without blowing on it, causing Haseul to immediately flinch at the hot soup on her tongue.

“Oops,” Vivi said sarcastically, laughing as Haseul quickly doused her burning tongue with water.

“I swear, you’ve only gotten crueler since coming back from the dead.”

“Of course! Consequences don’t matter to me anymore! What’s the worst that could happen now? I already died once.”

Haseul was relieved. The duo had gradually gotten over their trepidation around Vivi’s death. It was unpleasant to remember. But they were trying their best to move past it and enjoy what they currently have. When Vivi passed, all Haseul was filled with were regrets. Things she should have done. Things she should have said.

And Haseul was a fast learner. She refused to take these same chances for granted. To pass up any opportunity to tell Vivi how much she loved her. To see her favorite pairs of eyes become cute crescents and her favorite cheeks to raise in happiness. Life was too cruel and sudden to waste opportunities away from Vivi.

So Haseul sat quietly. Enjoyed her delicious, homecooked meal while Vivi sat beside her and regaled her of the newest show she had been watching. The past was behind her. The future was far away.

Today, she had the greatest present of all. A present with Vivi.

…

“That was boring.”

“Hyunjin, you had your eyes closed like the entire time.”

“You wouldn’t know unless you were looking at me instead of the movie.”

Heejin and Hyunjin, despite having just finished a movie, were already bickering. Haseul chuckled to herself while gently pulling along a drowsy Vivi. The group had just come out of a horror movie that Heejin had insisted they watch together. Haseul had been hesitant to go, but Vivi managed to convince her by agreeing to come along as well.

“I swear to god though, Haseul was screaming the loudest,” Heejin teased. “It must’ve been hard for Vivi-unnie.”

“Mm, it’s okay,” Vivi responds quietly. “I ended up sleeping through most of it. Kinda feels like a waste of a ticket though.”

Haseul held Vivi’s hand reassuringly. “No, I’m glad you came too. I really needed something comforting to hold.”

Vivi smiled and blushed slightly. In front of them, Hyunjin and Heejin both pretended to gag.

“I swear Haseul has only gotten cheesier over time. Are you guys going to come to dinner too?” Heejin asks.

Haseul starts to consider it, but then she began to notice how tired the two of them currently feel. Even with Vivi being essentially passed out, the movie had drained a lot of Haseul’s energy. Maybe it was the excessive screaming, but Haseul decided she really needed to go home.

And judging by Vivi’s continuous swaying, she was close to knocking out as well.

“Sorry guys,” Haseul says. “I think we both need to sleep. I have work tomorrow too.”

Heejin pouts but nods understandingly. “Yeah I’m sure even this was tough for you guys. Still, we’re glad to see you guys again after so long! Let us know soon when we can hang again!”

“Aeong!”

“God damn it Hyunjin just tell them bye like a normal person!”

The group exchanged hugs before separating. Haseul laughs as she notices that Heejin forces Hyunjin to hold her hand to stop the latter from constantly adopting a cat pose. Haseul and Vivi began walking home, but were quickly feeling the ramifications of their earlier hangout.

“Okay, maybe we call an Uber,” Haseul proposes. Vivi hums her agreement and Haseul starts requests a ride from the app. The couple find a bench to sit and relax while they wait. Haseul idly plays with Vivi’s fingers while they wait, and Vivi takes a moment to enjoy the surrounding nature.

“It’s nice to get out once in a while,” Vivi acknowledges. “I missed seeing actual animals and smelling fresh air.”

“Then we can go out as many times as you like,” Haseul says without a moment of hesitation. Suddenly, she fails to stifle a loud yawn. Vivi laughs while Haseul looks around to make sure no one had seen it. “Or maybe we can’t. I should’ve taken a nap too in the theater.”

“It’s certainly requires strategy now to go outside,” Vivi admits.

“Well I thought it’d be more manageable if it was simply just the act of halving my life-force or whatever Chaewon said. But it turns out it takes even more energy to keep you here. Like a tax after paying a flat fee. It’s kinda bullshit.”

Vivi grunts in agreement. Before Haseul could continue grumbling, the Uber arrives. The couple force themselves on the bench and get into the car. While Vivi quickly starts dozing against the comfort the car seat, Haseul remains awake and wonders how worthwhile these outings are.

It’s alright, Haseul thinks to herself. Sure, they’re exhausted. But they managed to get a solid afternoons-worth of social activity. It’s not a terrible time to call it a day after that.

Or maybe it’s not worth. To have to constantly strategize their social meetings. Haseul was getting tired of having to plan so far ahead for even the most simple activities. Sure, they were fun. But was it worth the exhaustion? Was it worth Vivi attending just to stay predominantly silent? Was it worth meeting friends after work just to come home too exhausted to spend any time with Vivi?

The Uber finally reached their apartment, and Haseul nudged Vivi awake. After thanking the driver, Haesul began dragging Vivi to the elevator. The whole walk, Haseul couldn’t help but see Vivi like one of those slow-moving zombies in the movies. The image of a pale, dead Vivi in a casket flashed in her mind. She never wanted to see Vivi like that again.

Haseul began suspecting that maybe they didn’t need to go out as much.

…

“Hey, don’t let her jump off the table!”

“I’m pretty sure frogs can normally survive jumps off of dining room tables.”

Yeojin, unconvinced, still tried to stop the frog from getting too close to the edge. “I think you’re being a little too casual about this. You do know who this is right…”

Hyejoo snorts. “I think we’re fine.” The frog began to keep in the center of the table and test out the height of its jumps. Hyejoo decided to change the subject. “How’s your sister?”

“Hmm, I think she’s good? I haven’t seen or heard from her outside the group chat. Which is good I guess. No more random check-ins to make sure I’m getting my homework done.”

“…I suppose that’s good news. But aren’t you a little worried?”

Yeojin finally leaves the frog alone to meet Hyejoo’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

Hyejoo shifts nervously in place. “I don’t want to overstep, but when was the last time you saw your sister? Isn’t it a little strange? I don’t think I’ve seen her in like a month.”

“Well you know, she has Vivi back now. I’m sure they’re just too wrapped up in their world. And unnie deserves that time alone after she had to suffer alone, don’t you think?”

“Yeah totally. But I was talking to Sooyoung-unnie yesterday. And she mentioned that even she hasn’t seen Haseul-unnie in a while. She said that Haseul-unnie has been refusing to meet outside of their apartment. And obviously it’s because of-“

Yeojin quickly moved right in front of Hyejoo. Though it was hard to be intimidate Hyejoo when Yeojin only reached her shoulders, Hyejoo instinctively shrunk into herself realizing she had struck a nerve. “If you say that reviving Vivi was a mistake, I swear I’ll-“

“Hold on there, I didn’t say anything like that. I’m just…I feel like something’s not right. And I think Sooyoung-unnie is right to be worried. Haseul needs to get out a little more.”

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound interrupted their discussion, followed by a cloud of smoke. On the dining room table, the frog had disappeared. In its place was Chaewon, who was still resting on her hands and legs just like a frog. The witch shook her head as if to remove any lingering frog sensation.

“How long was I turned?” Chaewon asked as she carefully crawled off the table.

Hyejoo looked at her watch. “Five minutes. Did you understand what we were talking about?”

Chaewon nodded. “Yeah. I think it’d be good to check on Vivi-unnie every once in a while. Both because I miss her and to make sure the spell is still working fine.”

Yeojin stares angrily at Chaewon, who maintains eye contact. Yeojin sighs. “I really hope this doesn’t become a regular thing. She doesn’t need her to younger sister to constantly check in on her. I’ll text the unnies.” She walked away to the room she shared with Hyejoo.

The remaining roommates stayed quiet for a moment. Then Hyejoo turned to Gowon with a quirked eyebrow, which Chaewon quickly returned.

“So I saw you lick your own eyeball. Do you want to explain or…”

“Shut up! I just wanted to see if I could do it!”

…

Haseul fidgeted in her seat.

She had decided to go out for a meal with Jungeun and Jinsol. Actually, she had been practically dragged out by the duo and forced out by Vivi. Though the girl had voiced her protests, Vivi had insisted.

“It’s been weeks! You need to get out! Humans need fresh air! I can stay by myself for a little bit.”

Reluctantly, Haseul had left, but found herself stressed and worried. In her head, she knew better. Vivi was home, watching a show or sleeping. She would literally feel it if something else was going on. It’s not like Vivi was even eager to leave the house.

But her heart wouldn’t stop beating loudly in her chest. Her palms were a little clammy. She needed to see Vivi. Now.

Haseul suddenly rose from her seat, prompting Jungeun and Jinsol to stop their conversation. “Uh, everything cool?” Jinsol asks.

“Sorry, I…I need to go home.” Haseul started gathering her things. Jinsol and Jungeun continued to look confused.

“Is it Vivi? Is there something wrong?” Jinsol continued pushing.

“No I…I just…need to be with Vivi.” Haseul got up and left the venue. As she headed towards her parked car, she felt a tug on her arm. She turned around to see Jinsol and Jungeun, both slightly panting after chasing after her.

“Haseul…I don’t know what’s going on, but is there a need to go?” Jinsol asks. “I don’t mean to come between you and Vivi or anything, but is there really a reason you need to spend so much time with her? You haven’t hung out with any of us in quite a while.”

Haseul quickly tears her arm out of Jinsol’s grasp. “What are you saying? I shouldn’t be spending time with the love of my life who, by the way, was revived after DYING?!”

Jinsol immediately shrinks into herself a little when Haseul raises her voice.

“Hey!” Jungeun butts in. “Unnie, you don’t need to yell. We’re just worried. There’s nothing wrong with spending a lot of time with Vivi-unnie. But you’re spending all of your time together. Do you get any time for yourself? Even before the accident, you were still able to make time for us. Have you even seen Yeojin recently?”

Normally, Haseul would take the time to consider Jungeun’s words. She had always considered herself a calm and understanding person. But maybe it was the lack of vitality. Maybe it was the fear that Vivi could disappear any moment. But Haseul wasn’t interested in understanding today.

“It’s none of your business how I spend my time! I get it: I haven’t been spending as much time with you guys as I used to. I’m sorry! But can you guys stop being so selfish!”

This time, Jungeun also reeled back from Haseul’s insult. Jinsol, offended on behalf of Jungeun, moved forward to interrupt, but Haseul didn’t let her get a word in.

“Things have changed. I’ve changed. Every time I leave Vivi on her own…I get anxious. I feel like I’m waiting for that call again. That damn phone call ruined everything. It’s like I’m in a dream that I know has to end. And if I can’t see Vivi physically in front of me, I feel like she’ll just disappear one day. Just like she did that night.

“And I’m going to wake up the next day alone.”

Haseul started tearing up. Jinsol started reaching towards her, but Haseul quickly turned around and stormed off.

“And I’ll be damned if I let that ever happen again,” Haseul shouts as she leaves.

…

Haseul returned to her apartment. She can’t help but wince when she accidentally slams the door. Expelling a tense breath, Haseul takes a moment to sit down by the shoe rack and regain her composure.

Vivi waddles over, yawning and wearing her pajamas. Seeing Haseul pause by the doorway, Vivi takes a moment to look her girlfriend over. Noting the lack of serious injury, Vivi carefully moves and takes a seat next to Haseul. The latter instinctively leans her head against Vivi’s shoulder.

“They don’t understand,” Haseul says. And Vivi can already piece together what happened.

“They’re just worried,” Vivi counters calmly. “You’ve changed.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

Vivi takes a moment to think about her answer. “They don’t want you to give up your normal life for me. And to be honest, I don’t want you to either.”

Haseul’s head shoots up. “I’m not giving up anything! I’m living my best life with you!”

“You’re isolating yourself from everyone else. You’re neglecting work and friends. I’m really worried you know?”

“Exactly! They’re all worried about me!” Haseul throws her hands up in frustration. “Nobody is worried about you! You’re the one who died! You’re the one who deserves to enjoy life more than anyone else. You can’t tell me I’m wrong!”

Vivi suddenly couldn’t refute that statement. “Sure…but that’s cause I’m-“

Haseul is quick to turn her head away. “Don’t say it! So what if you’re not really alive anymore? You’re still Vivi! You talk and act just like you normally did. I’m not gonna settle for this situation where I get to act like nothings changed while you’re only allowed to live life while I’m around. I didn’t just bring you back because I was lonely! I brought you back because you deserve to live too. Even if it’s only a fraction of what you did before, I’d give my life to see that you get to have yours.”

She could feel the tears building again. But before she can continue, she feels hands grasp the side of her head. Vivi gently turns Haseul’s head towards her and stares lovingly into Haseul’s eyes.

“Please don’t say that,” Vivi responds firmly. “You deserve to live too.”

Haseul chokes back a sob. “You’re right. We both do. So let’s stop trying to get each other to live normal lives, okay? Things have changed. Let’s figure out how to change together.”

Despite still looking conflicted, Vivi couldn’t deny Haseul. “Okay. As long as we do it together…okay.”

Haseul gives Vivi a tearful smile before moving to hug her. Vivi reciprocates warmly, and the two are content to sit in that position for a minute while they come down from the adrenaline of their argument.

“Alright, I’ve had enough crying for one day. Let’s get to bed ASAP.” Haseul rose from the floor and quickly moved to the bathroom to wash her tear-streaked face.

Vivi took a moment to stay seated and think. Vivi couldn’t help but believe the adoration and reassurance Haseul provided. Things were far from perfect. But Haseul had a way of comforting Vivi that the latter treasured ever since they first met. And though there were still many details to iron out, Vivi chose to trust Haseul. She’d follow her girlfriend to the ends of the Earth if she asked.

So when Haseul called for her to come to bed, Vivi dutifully followed her.

…

Hyejoo was quietly playing video games in the living room. Usually the apartment would be filled with Yeojin and Yerim’s screams or the smell of Chaewon’s failed cooking attempts. But Hyejoo had the privilege of enjoying a moment of solitude due to everyone needing to study for their classes. They had been so focused on preparing for their next prank that they had all forgotten to prepare for exams.

Well, it was worth it to see that Professor’s face when his pet frog started dancing, Hyejoo laughed to herself.

The sound of their doorbell pulled Hyejoo out of her thoughts. At the same time, her character died, causing the girl to sigh. Hyejoo paused the game and moved to the door.

Sooyoung and Jinsol appeared. Hyejoo was about to make a snarky joke before noticing that the two unnies looked quite serious.

“Things have changed. And not for the better,” Jinsoul says grimly.

“We need to talk to you.” Sooyoung requests.

Hyejoo really hopes this was about the frog.

Chapter Text

“You can’t be serious,” Yeojin states in disbelief.

The group of girls were seated in the witches’ living room. Sooyoung and Jinsoul were stood in front of the TV, talking to the witches who were seated on the couch. Though with how defensive Yeojin was getting, Hyejoo felt like the quartet was being scolded instead.

“Please calm down,” Sooyoung pacifies the group. “This…this isn’t easy for us to talk about either.” Hyejoo takes the time to notice how exhausted both of their unnies look. Jinsoul wearing whatever assortment of clothes she calls fashion is unsurprising, but Jinsoul’s eyes seem duller than before. Sooyoung, who has much more pride in her appearance, is wearing an old sweatshirt Hyejoo’s never seen before and sporting less make-up than usual.

“Yeah, you guys are talking really casually about getting rid of Vivi!” Yeojin accuses. The younger sister was ready to defend her sister’s happiness at all costs. Even two of her favorite people in the world weren’t going to stop her.

“Let’s let them explain Yeojin,” Chaewon mediates. She looks just as surprised as the rest of them, but Chaewon always tries to step up and lead when the group gets argumentative. Yerim nods in agreement, just wanting everyone to get along.

Jinsoul nods gratefully to Chaewon. “Believe me when I say that we wanted Vivi back as much as you guys. She’s one of our best friends too. But I’m starting to doubt that this whole thing has been as healthy for either of them as we thought.”

“That’s nonsense,” Yeojin interrupts. “Haseul was depressed! She’s happy now! Are you guys blind? You think that’s better than the way Haseul is now?!”

Hyejoo fidgeted nervously. She hated seeing her friends fight. It was particularly uncomfortable watching Yeojin get mad: she was always one of the kindest and most respectful members of their group, refusing to ever raise her voice at them (at least on purpose, the girl had a loud voice).

“And now she’s a little crazy!” Sooyoung responds with equal anger. “She lashed out at Jinsoul and Jungeun last week! And when I went to try and figure out why Haseul’s pulling away from everyone, she yelled at me too! Haseul! She never yells at us like this. You don’t think that’s a little odd?”

Yerim and Chaewon both dawn shocked faces. Haseul had always been the most patient unnie. Even with all four of the witches teasing her, Haseul had never once raised her voice against them. To hear that she was doing so to everyone else was strange.

But Yeojin wasn’t hearing the same thing. “She’s annoyed cause you guys keep butting into her personal life. We explained how the spell works already. She has to spend more time with Vivi!”

“That’s the other problem,” Jinsoul suddenly interjects. The older girl looks frazzled watching Sooyoung and Yeojin argue, her hands holding her slumped head. “Vivi’s been weird too. Every time we’ve seen her, she’s looked…uncomfortable. We’ve been chalking it up to the shared lifeforce thing but…she’s always so distant.”

“She’s tired!”

“There’s something wrong!”

Sooyoung and Yeojin were glaring at each other. While Hyejoo would normally laugh at the height discrepancy, she couldn’t help but feel forced to be silent. Yeojin was somehow matching Sooyoung in intimidation through sheer anger alone.

“This is stupid!” Yeojin finally declares. She leaps out of her seat and heads to the front door. “You guys are such assholes for wanting to ruin their happiness.” Sooyoung and Jinsoul, despite their valid concerns, couldn’t help but feel some shame. They didn’t want to split up Haseul and Vivi. But something had to change. Something wasn’t right.

“Where are you going?” Hyejoo says, getting out of her seat to follow Yeojin.

Yeojin furiously jabs at her heel with the shoe horn before flinging open the door. “I’m going to talk to them myself! If you guys are so fucking worried, I’ll fix it. It was my idea to bring Vivi back anyways.”

Before Hyejoo could say anything else, Yeojin ran out of the apartment and slammed the door behind her.

…

“Oh, Yeojin!” Haseul exclaims happily. “Come in! Vivi’s just making some tea right now, do you want some?”

Yeojin takes a deep breath. “Actually, I wanted to check in. It feels like we haven’t talked in a while.”

Haseul pauses and looks up at the ceiling to try and jog her memory. “Hmm, yeah I guess. Sorry, I lost track of time. Did you miss me that much?” Haseul asks with a teasing glint in her eye. Yeojin huffs and lightly pushes Haseul aside as she walks in.

“No way hag! I’m here to see my favorite unnie.”

“Oh, would that be me?” Vivi appears from the kitchen, holding a tray with three cups. Haseul is quick to rush over and assist Vivi. The two smile brightly at one another. Yeojin scoffs in her head. What idiots, she thinks while the image of Sooyoung and Jinsoul flashes in her head.

“See, this is why I told those nosy unnies to stop,” Yeojin exclaims. She practically throws her arms into the air, causing Haseul and Vivi to notice.

“Something wrong?” Haseul asks.

Yeojin takes a large sip of her tea. “It’s just Sooyoung and Jinsoul unnies being paranoid about you guys. They say there’s something wrong.” She notices Vivi slightly stiffening up and Haseul seems to freeze. “There…not anything wrong, right?”

Vivi doesn’t say a word and Haseul hasn’t moved either. But Yeojin eyes the tense grip her sister has on her teacup.

“Those two are really getting out of line,” Haseul finally says through gritted teeth. “I swear, they need to find some other entertainment besides trying to ruin our relationship.” Though Haseul isn’t quite yelling, Yeojin has never heard that tone from Haseul. She was seething with restrained anger.

“…right. I told them off, don’t worry unnie!” Yeojin attempts to diffuse the situation. Haseul, noticing her sister was still in the room, lets out a breath she didn’t’ realize she had been holding.

“Right, sorry about that. I’m gonna run to the restroom for a bit. Be right back!”

Haseul skips away as if nothing had happened. Yeojin is left flabbergasted. She looks to Vivi, who is looking forlornly at the bathroom door.

“That wasn’t normal, was it?” Yeojin questions Vivi. The latter glances back at Yeojin before focusing back on the bathroom. “Didn’t think so…”

“We’re just a bit stressed. You know…the spell.”

“Right…why is she in the bathroom then?”

Vivi sighs and stares at the ceiling. Unwilling to make eye contact with Yeojin. “She’s been feeling worst lately. It’s gone beyond the fatigue. She’s probably in the bathroom trying to get over her nausea and headache.”

Yeojin’s eyes widen. “I didn’t know…is it…”

Vivi nods. “I feel it too,” she admits. “It’s hard for both of us to do much else besides stay home these days. And Haseul’s been feeling really antagonized lately.”

Yeojin suddenly feels a wave of nervousness wash over her. This…this wasn’t supposed to happen. And suddenly she really sees it. The tiredness in Vivi’s expression. The dilapidated state of the apartment (Vivi was almost as much of a clean freak as Jungeun). The unbridled rage in Haseul’s demeanor as soon as Sooyoung and Jinsoul were mentioned.

Sooyoung had been right. There was something terribly wrong.

“But unnie…” Yeojin starts, but she hesitates. Vivi looks back with a curious look. Yeojin knows why it is so hard to ask. Sooyoung and Jinsol hadn’t said it explicitly, but it was getting hard to ignore. The way Vivi never looked comfortable. Like she was always suppressing something.

She suspected the spell was far from perfect. That to bring Vivi back in this manner was far from ideal. That Vivi had been revived right after she died in a violent car crash. That Vivi’s very health and state were unknowns now. Some things were better left unsaid. And Yeojin had decided that as long as the desired result was achieved, the side effects were irrelevant.

But this was Vivi. Sweet Vivi who had always been willing to sacrifice for others and bear any hardship for her friends and family. Yeojin couldn’t pretend everything was okay when it involved Vivi.

Yeojin swallows nervously. “It…it hurts, doesn’t it?” she finally asks.

Vivi had always been a good model. She knew how to manipulate her expression for any purpose. Whether she’s at a professional photoshoot or with her friends. The younger members of their friend group always felt like they had to ask Vivi what was on her mind since she rarely betrayed her intentions or worries.

So when Vivi’s smile falters for just a moment, Yeojin feels her stomach drop like it had been tossed off a building. It was so fast. Almost imperceptible to anyone else. But to her practical sister-in-law, that small sign of weakness absolutely ruins Yeojin.

“Unnie, I’m so sorry!” Yeojin quickly 180s from her original stance. “We can fix this! I can…”

But Vivi silences her with a soft pat on the head. Yeojin notes at how cold the sensation was and fails to suppress the slight shudder.

“I’m okay Yeojin,” Vivi responds calmly. “As long as your sister is happy, I am too. Besides,” Vivi says moving back to sit on the couch. “It’s not up to us is it?” Vivi gives Yeojin a sad smile, and the smaller girl immediately feels herself breaking into a sweat.

By the time Haseul comes out of the bathroom, Yeojin is gone.

…

Hyejoo was absentmindedly watching television when Yeojin crashes through their front door.

“Uh, everything okay?” Hyejoo tentatively asks as Yeojin runs past to get to their shared room. “Hey! I was asking you a question you little shit!”

Hyejoo chases Yeojin into the room, where Yeojin is rabidly rummaging through her backpack. She pulls a spellbook out. It was an old, tattered book, that Yeojin and her friends had found in one of their many road trips to mysterious bookstores in the middle of nowhere. She remembered how excitedly she and Hyejoo were to have found it. The barely-contained glee as they watched Yerim haggle with the oblivious owner to a price a mere fraction of its true worth to sorcerers.

Their treasured book had been the source of the revival spell. It felt like they had hit the jackpot when the roommates had found that ritual.

But now, Yeojin wished she never found it in the first place.

With a possessed strength, Yeojin slams the book on the ground as hard as possible. It landed on its spine, causing a small bend. A few pages flew out, startling Hyejoo who had been worriedly messaging their friend group.

“Yeojin…?” Hyejoo asks tentatively. “What was-“

“I didn’t do shit!” Yeojin screams, falling to her knees and clutching her head. Hyejoo immediately drops her phone and lowers herself to steady Yeojin by her shoulders.

“What do you mean? Yeojin it’s not your faul-“

“It is! It’s all my fault this happened. I-if I never found this stupid book…” Yeojin struggled to find the words as she began choking on her sobs.

Hyejoo softly rubs Yeojin’s back, trying to encourage her to relax.

“I didn’t do shit.” Yeojin says again, much quieter. “I was supposed to bring Vivi-unnie back. But all I’ve done is kill Haseul.” Hyejoo flinches. “Now we lost them both. And it’s all my fault.”

Too shocked to respond, Hyejoo stilled. The only sounds were Yeojin’s ragged breaths as she struggled to catch her breath. Hyejoo waited patiently for Yeojin to speak again.

After a few moments, Yeojin stood up. Hyejoo rose with her. Yeojin’s gaze fixated on the fallen book. They continued to stay still as various thoughts circled around Yeojin’s mind. Trying to find a solution. Trying to decide what she could do.

Without turning around, Yeojin spoke to Hyejoo. “There’s no counter spell or anything, right?”

“No.” Hyejoo replied immediately. She had already read the book front to back several times. The witches, minus Yeojin, did so immediately after their talk with Sooyoung and Jinsoul.

Yeojin let out a deep sigh. She had ruined things. No, they were already ruined, she thinks. Her actions had only extended an inevitable period of grief.

“Burn it,” Yeojin whispers. The request almost sounds more like a command. Normally Hyejoo would respond with a sarcastic quip and refuse without some sort of bribe.

But this time, Hyejoo obliges without a fight. She snaps her fingers, and the book combusts instantly. The scattered pages get caught up in the flames, and they spread a black coloration on the once white pages. At the same time, Yeojin felt her guilt begin to overwhelm her.

She had thought she was doing the right thing: she wanted desperately to make her sister happy once again. She pretended it was alright to raise the dead if it was in exchange for someone’s happiness. But that was childish and ignorant thing to do. And now two people had to suffer because of her immaturity.

Yeojin accepted it. Let the shame wash through her conscious as she acknowledged her responsibility and duty to set things right. Hyejoo remained behind her, waiting for Yeojin to be ready to talk. Waiting for what their next move will be.

The two sorceresses watch quietly as their previously rare treasure becomes a pile of unremarkable ash.

…

Haseul looked at the front door in confusion. “Where’d Yeojin go?”

Vivi stayed seated, pursing her lips tightly.

Feeling like this was something that needed to be addressed, Haseul made her way over and sat next to Vivi on the couch. “Is something wrong? Talk to me?”

When Haseul gets this way, Vivi wants nothing more than to smooth out the younger’s hair and assure her that she’s fine. But Vivi is starting to think that she’s been contributing to the problem instead of the solution. That maybe she wasn’t doing the best thing for Haseul like she thought she was.

Or like she had been summoned to do.

“I think…this isn’t working,” Vivi finally manages to say. She looks at Haseul, whose face was truly devastated.

“Are you…breaking up with me? I don’t think the ritual lets you do that.” Haseul tries to keep the conversation light. But she can already tell which way Vivi was steering the conversation. And this was her one plea to stop.

“No, I suppose it doesn’t.” Vivi stares at Haseul’s face and reaches over to cup her cheek. “Only you can do that.”

Haseul stiffens. “And why would I do that?”

“Because I think Yeojin’s right. This isn’t working. For either of us.” Vivi frowns deeply. She quickly reflects on everything that’s happened since she had been resurrected. All the wonderful times they were able to spend together. And all the regretful times when she had to watch Haseul sacrifice everything to keep this farce going.

Vivi sighs and does her best to convey every bit of love and compassion she felt for Haseul in her next sentence. “I think you need to let me go.”

It takes a moment for the words to process in Haseul’s mind. But when they do, they hit her like a truck.

“Please…” Haseul begs. “Don’t make me do this. It was different when you were taken by the accident. But now…it’s me. I’m making the choice. Don’t make me do it. Don’t make me kill you!”

Haseul falls to her knees, crying loudly. Vivi kneels in front of her, her face pained. If she could cry tears, she would surely be bawling at the same rate as Haseul was.

“I wish I could take this responsibility from you,” Vivi tells Haseul. “I wish for a lot of things. But I think we both need to accept things as they are.”

Haseul shakes her head vigorously. “We don’t have to. We can keep living this way. I don’t mind! I promise!”

“No,” Vivi says simply. “Neither of us are living this way. You’re killing yourself by doing this. And I want you to live. I’m not going to promise that you’ll feel happiness just like you did before the accident.” Haseul stares at the ground, her throat too choked up to respond. “But I hope you can try and look for it.

“There’s nothing I want more than for you to find something worth living for. And if you look, you’ll find it. I promise.”

Haseul thinks back to their last day together. Vivi had to leave for a photoshoot Friday night. And though Haseul was used to her girlfriend’s weekend shoots, the former still whined and tried to convince Vivi to stay. Instead, Vivi had reassured Haseul with a kiss and a promise that she would return very soon.

“Alright,” Haseul says, reluctantly pulling away with a smile. “But you better promise!”

Vivi chuckled. “I promise! And when have I ever broken a promise?”

Even after dying, Vivi had managed to keep this promise, even if it was magic. But still, the sentiment resonated strongly in Haseuls’ mind. Vivi had kept her promise even in death. Maybe it wasn’t completely due to her, but as Vivi had claimed, she has never broken a promise.

“…you better promise,” Haseul weakly whispers.

Vivi nods. “I promise.”

The room is deathly silent. Haseul doesn’t say anything. But Vivi does not rush her. There aren’t any magic incantations for the release part. Chaewon had explained it was really as simple as accepting the termination of their agreement.

Despite its simplicity, Vivi knows what a tremendous decision Haseul has to make. Though the choice should be obvious, it still takes everything she has for Haseul to accept it wholly. To truly come to terms with releasing her love. And Vivi, though she too is crushed by their parting, mainly feels pride.

You’ll be fine, Vivi thinks. Now I know for sure.

“Vivi…I’m letting you go. You’re free,” Haseul barely manages to say in between sobs. She feels something warm envelop her hands, which had previously been covering her tear-stained face. When Haseul looks up, she sees that it was Vivi’s hands.

Her beautiful yet deceased girlfriend looks at her with a large smile. Her eyes becoming the familiar crescents that Haseul had once declared her life purpose to summon.

“Thank you Haseul. You’re so strong,” Vivi encourages. A bright light begins to swallow the older girl and Haseul feels her grip on Vivi’s hands tighten. There’s an almost unbearable instinct in her head screaming at her to take it back. To refuse to let Vivi go again.

But Vivi’s face remains content and loving, and Haseul forces herself to unclench her hands.

“I love you,” Haseul whimpers. Vivi, hands by her side, nods appreciatively.

“I’ll always love you too.”

The light finally blinds Haseul. And when it eventually recedes, Vivi is gone.

And Haseul is left alone in the dark once again.

…

Yeojin and Hyejoo walk together through the hallway of Haseul’s apartment building.

“You sure you won’t get bored? I don’t know how long this will take.” Yeojin was determined to handle this on her own after hearing about what happened. But Hyejoo insisted on hanging around “just in case.” Yeojin pretended to not care, but she was of course grateful for Hyejoo’s supportwwwwwwwwww

Hyejoo nonchalantly waves her phone. “I downloaded Teamfight Tactics. I’ll wait however long it takes.”

Yeojin smiles appreciatively before moving to unlock and enter Haseul’s apartment.

The apartment was unchanged since her last visit yesterday. And the day before that. Once again, Haseul seemed to have lost the will to live. The curtains were still shut. Only a few dirty dishes were stacked in the sink. Yeojin noted that the dishes she made for Haseul yesterday were still untouched on the living room table.

She sighed and moved to the bedroom, where a small mound on the bed grabbed her attention. The room remained unchanged since Yeojin cleaned it last, and the younger sister found herself hoping the older would make a mess to at least prove she had left bed.

“Unnie,” Yeojin begins shyly. The bed bump didn’t react. “Unnie, please. Get out of bed.” When there was still no response, Yeojin kicked the bed.

Haseul remained still. Yeojin would’ve thought her sister was the one who had died if not for the slight rise and fall of the sheet. At least she’s breathing, Yeojin thinks.

She finally decides enough is enough, and pulls the blanket off herself. Haseul remains curled up in the fetal position, ignoring the lack of cloth surrounding her. Though they were both on the smaller side of their friend group, this was a rare time where Yeojin really felt larger than Haseul.

“…unnie,” Yeojin says. She doesn’t quite know how to get through to the older girl. Sooyoung and Jinsol had both tried to no success. Haseul just shut down and became despondent. It didn’t matter if they cried or yelled. And it was looking like Yeojin would be facing the same result.

Well, there was one thing they hadn’t tried. Hadn’t been willing to try. Yeojin takes a few measured steps back and turns around. She nonchalantly puts her hands behind her head.

“You know, this isn’t what Vivi would’ve wanted.”

Before she could even brace herself, she feels Haseul grab her shoulder and roughly turn her around. Yeojin has always heard that Haseul was only fierce and scary when she was defending one of her friends. So it was weird to be on the other side of that.

Haseul’s bloodshot eyes were glaring straight into Yeojin’s. The former had yet to release her death grip on Yeojin’s shoulder.

“What. Do you know. About what Vivi would want?” Haseul asks menacingly. Though Yeojin knew Haseul had opera training, she doesn’t think she’s ever heard Haseul’s voice go this low. She’d be scared if she didn’t think that this was the only way to get through to Haseul.

You asked for it Yeojin, she thinks to herself. Hopefully Hyejoo could come in and save her if she screamed loud enough.

“I said what I said. You’re just wallowing in sadness.”

“In case you didn’t know, my girlfriend died. Again. I think I’m entitled to some moping.” Haseul speaks in measured breaths, and Yeojin could also smell the venom she is trying to hold back.

“You’ve been moping for a month! Again! This isn’t healthy! And I’m pretty sure Vivi wasn’t happy to hear about it the first time!”

Yeojin isn’t sure what lies beyond death, but this grip Haseul had on her was in the process of sending her there.

“You better stop saying her name. You think you have any idea what her last words were to me?”

“I do! Because I loved Vivi-unnie too!” Yeojin honestly had no idea what their last conversation could possibly be like. She couldn’t even imagine what two people in their situation could possibly say to overcome it. But Yeojin knew Vivi, and she knew that Vivi would want nothing more for Haseul than to move on.

“And because I know she loved you too, I know she told you to live. To cry less and try more. And I’m mad because you’re wasting both of your lives by not even trying to live.”

Haseul suddenly quiets and Yeojin finally gets a chance to realize, by the hoarseness in her throat, that she had also been yelling. Hopefully Hyejoo was on standby.

She feels Haseul’s hand loosening, and is surprised when Haseul suddenly collapses on top of her. Yeojin barely has a chance to react and manages to get them to kneel softly on the floor. Haseul’s tears immediately begin to wet Yeojin’s top.

“You’re right,” Haseul admits tearfully. “That’s all she asked of me. And I’m fucking failing. I can’t do it.”

Yeojin gingerly pats Haseul’s back. “You can’t do it now. And that happens. I’m sure there will be times where you can and times where you can’t. Knowing you, you’ll never get over it. And that’s okay.”

Haseul’s arm wraps around Yeojin, and the grip Haseul has on her has changed to one of desperation. “But what am I supposed to do? I can’t even explain how I feel. I just…I can’t. I want to. I really do. But what do I do when I just can’t? Even if it’s for Vivi!”

“Then you let us help. We’ll keep you afloat if you ever feel like you’re sinking back to this state. Jiwoo will sing you lullabies. Hyunjin will bake you the softest bread in the world. Chaewon will give you a charm to stave off nightmares.

“Vivi isn’t the only one who wanted you to live. The first step is letting us help. And we’ll literally drag you through life until you’re well enough to pick yourself up again. I promise.”

For a moment, there isn’t a response and Yeojin fears Haseul decided to shut down again. But she feels Haseul, who has buried her face into Yeojin’s shoulder, slightly nod, and Yeojin finally allows herself to smile and tightly embrace Haseul. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, but Yeojin was feeling hopeful this was the start.  

…

Later, Hyejoo is slumped against the wall of the hallway. She has played four Teamfight Tactics games. She groans as she barely loses her fifth. What a terrible day, she thinks. Turning off her phone, she raises her arms up to stretch when she feels the familiar, custom vibration.

Sorry, I’m staying the night. You can go home. Sorry I made you wait.

Instead of feeling irate, Hyejoo feels herself smile. She picks herself up, brushes off the dust on the back of her pants, and heads to the elevator.

No problem. I’m glad she finally let you in. See you at home later.

Maybe this was a good day after all.

…

It takes time, but Haseul eventually heals.

She comes back to her job (has to, since the bills won’t pay for themselves). Distance is important too, and Haseul eventually moves out of her apartment into one with Sooyoung and Jiwoo. Haseul didn’t want to impose but both Sooyoung and Jiwoo insisted.

“When one mom isn’t able to put in her 50%, then the other mom steps up and completes the 100%,” Sooyoung had chicly said. Jiwoo then needlessly insisted that she was still the one dating Sooyoung and that the mom title referred to their friend group dynamic. It got a rare chuckle out of Haseul and she thanked them effusively for their invitation..

Haseul starts writing music again. Despite her long absence, the company is happy to have her back as a producer. And music serves as an outlet for her feelings. Her desk is covered by pages of random assortments of lyrics. All conveying her sense of love and loss. Though happy with her productivity, her co-workers never comment on the songs. They respect her privacy and know to steer away from Haseul’s inspiration.

But her friends are not as hesitant. They continue to pull her outside for frequent social gatherings. The benefit of a large friend group is that someone is always around if Haseul wants company. The con of a large friend group is that everyone will drop whatever they’re doing to ensure that Haseul has a company of ten people.

There are days where she still feels overwhelmed. Like she is drowning without the presence of her lover by her side. Those days will never stop coming. But it is no longer an endless torture. Gradually it wanes in frequency and Haseul finds herself able to enjoy parts of her life. To breathe again.

She laughs when Yeojin accidentally sets her hair on fire from absentmindedly snapping her fingers.

She smiles when Heejin performs the song they co-wrote during her first concert as a singer.

She cries when Sooyoung, covered in cake, messily proposes to Jiwoo on New Years Eve.

She feels empathetic when Hyejoo finally gets the courage to ask Haseul for help on a perfect first date.

Through these experiences, Haseul realizes she made the right choice. That all of these things were worth the struggles she felt for the past year.

Vivi is a permanent hole in her life. Haseul has come to terms with the fact that the feeling and pain will never leave her. But she realizes that life has enough good and love to outweigh that loss. It gives more than it takes. That’s why Haseul found the strength to keep living.

In the end, Vivi had been right. After all, she always kept her promises.