Chapter Text
“I need these done by Saturday.” The woman bluntly stated. With her arms crossed, she stood rigidly in front of the counter.
“I’m sorry, but that might not be possible. Monday might actually be better.” The client had asked for three types of different three-layered cakes: strawberry, carrot, and butter. Each one was to be carefully decorated with small cutesy decorations of flowers and cats.
“Can’t you make it possible? I’ll pay extra.” The money was obviously not the problem here. Seulgi was already overloaded with work - she had planned to take Friday afternoon off. Her family had been nagging for the last few weeks and she really needed this longer weekend.
“As I said, I apologize-”
“And as I said, I’ll pay more.” The client’s eyes narrowed as she brushed her straight black bangs out of the way. The movement brought attention to her tattooed fingers - a blatant sign of the woman’s wiccan status. Different moons and suns ran up and down, woven in between symbols or foreign words that Seulgi had no clue what they meant. A snake like creature twisted around her ring finger, it’s head stopping right above her knuckle.
“Hello?” The lady looked at her with an eyebrow raised, waiting for an answer (not that it was really a question).
“Alright,” she sighed, already thinking of the extra hours she would have to work.
“Good. Double works for you?” Seulgi only nodded in return.
The woman gave her one last nod before turning and seeing herself out the door, letting a cold rush of air enter. The light click of the door was accompanied by the chimes she had hung above the entrance. Normally, she believed they filtered the bad vibes and kept a more positive sensation in the bakery. Cakes and pastries were made to lift your mood, she always made sure her clients felt comfortable and warm.
This wasn’t exactly the case just then. Through the window pane her eyes followed the woman. The weather didn’t stop her from wearing a mid-thigh tight black dress with only thin tights and a large leather jacket. As the wind brushed her loose hair out of the way, Seulgi could swear she saw the beginning of another tattoo on the side of her neck.
She couldn’t really tell if the witch was pissed off, or if this was just her normal shitty attitude. Shivering, she took a deep breath. With another three orders to get done by the end of the week, it was time to get to work.
A couple of long hours later, she flipped the sign at the front door from “open” to “closed”. It was time to close up.
Wiping down a table, she chuckled at her earlier interaction. Such a scary person… but they ordered “exactly eleven mini siamese sugar cats” on one of the cakes and wanted pastel pink cream on another.
A loud ring brought her back to reality. Fumbling, she found her phone next to the cashier stand.
“Hey, why are you calling?”
“Can’t a brother call his dear sister?” She rolled her eyes at the cockiness exuding from his voice.
“Shut up, I know you want something. It’s Wednesday, your ‘date night’.” Another weird, douchey concept of his where he went out with a new girl every week. Well, more like he tried. It wasn’t that small of a town, but girls still caught on to his bullshit quick.
“Whatever, sis. I know you’re just jealous-”
“Say what you have to say before I hang up, Chen.”
“-that I actually have sex. But the real reason I’m calling is because mom said we’re having a family dinner Saturday and you have to be there.”
“I’m busy Saturday. Can’t we do it next week?”
“Listen, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but this gathering is for you.” He whispered.
“Gathering? Who else will be there? And why for me?”
“Can’t say much more, I’ve already betrayed my people in revealing such sensitive information to you,” he recited dramatically. She was also technically ‘his people’ but she wasn’t about to argue with him now.
“Fine, I’ll try to be there.”
“Don’t forget to wear something nice.” He sang before hanging up abruptly.
“Seulgi, my favorite niece,” her aunt pulled her into a hug, making sure to squeeze tightly. Seulgi was dressed in a lightweight cotton dress that she had sown herself. It was carefully embroidered with beautiful butterflies and intricate designs of leaves that she worked way too hard on. It was a hobby of hers. Sure it was a time-consuming one, but what hobby wasn’t?
“Hey! What about me?” Seulgi heard her cousin complain from the couch.
Her aunt just rolled her eyes at Joy’s behaviour. “You’re my daughter...” She whispered something under her breath about insolence and ungrateful children before getting up to immediately help out her sister, Seulgi’s mother, with the food.
“Hello, hello, my beautiful children!” Her dad rushed through the door, arms filled with home-grown vegetables. He made his way to the kitchen and placed a quick kiss on his wife’s cheek. Joy rolled off and fell onto the floor, earning a side-eye from her mother. She propped herself up on her elbow and winked cheekily at Seulgi. They were not only just cousins but also extremely close… that wink could only mean one thing. Something happened with Joy’s date the day before. Seulgi grinned at her excitedly.
“You have soil all over you! I told you to ask one of the girls to go instead,” she chastised, throwing a pointed look Joy’s way, who had all but fallen asleep. “Joy works with flowers all day, but when it comes to helping her dear uncle, she suddenly becomes a germaphobe.”
“Okay, yeah, I’m up,” she jumped up off of the floor. The plates were already set and little by little food filled up the empty table top space. There were eight places, yet only six of them. Today was also no special day in particular, but in front of her lay something that resembled a feast.
Her aunt reached over to scoop rice into a large bowl. “Your brother will be here soon. He had to help out your uncle with some disagreement again.”
Her mother tisked, “I bet it’s those witches again.”
“Wiccans,” Joy corrected through mouthfuls of rice.
“I don’t care what they’re called, they’re irritating nonetheless. I mean, I don’t have anything against them, but do they really need to flaunt their satanic rituals and tattoos like that.” Her mother shivered. Then she grabbed the spoon from Joy, scolding her.
“It could be worse,” Seulgi mumbled. It was getting better, the relationship between the humans and the wiccans. Like many other things, the older folk would still struggle to understand and accept the changes.
“And thankfully it’s not.” A prompt voice travelled from behind. Whirling around in surprise, she saw Chen standing with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face.
His mom sat him down quickly. “There is no time for us to debate this as well, child.” Joy would have loved to start a whole argument, but she was currently too preoccupied with shoving as much food in her mouth as possible. It was kind of gross actually.
“And where’s your fath-'' her aunt cut herself off. “Doesn’t matter, we are having this small gathering to celebrate.” What could they be celebrating? And why were there two extra table settings?
“Oh? Did you get news back about the bakery? I’ve been waiting for ages.” There was a chance she could move the bakery to a bigger space in the village center, but anything that was ever available would be almost immediately taken. She gave in an application a while back and so far only received crickets in return.
“Oh no, no, no,” her father laughed, “It’s much better than that.”
“I don’t see what could possibly be better?” She mused, genuinely curious of her relatives’ unusual behaviour. They were all staring at her, eyes wide and shining… where those tears?
“You’re getting married!” Her mother announced. Putting one hand over her mouth, it was like she had let out a big secret. Shrieking, her aunt got up and came over to shake and hug her in happiness.
Seulgi’s stomach dropped.
She couldn’t think straight. Marriage… married… to some guy… No. There was no time. She was busy, she had a career to work on.
“I can’t- what? Who?” she stuttered out. The syllables were barely forming themselves.
“Oh you know him,” she felt a friendly tap on her forearm. “It’s Jongin! You went to middle school together - that’s so cute, don’t you think?”
She knew Jongin. He was… nice. Honestly, she didn’t care back then and even less now.
“He’s had the biggest crush on you since literally forever,” her mother gushed, “the wedding will be so cute!”
Wedding? No, no wedding. There will not be a wedding. Not now and certainly not with Kim Jongin.
“No.” She sputtered out.
The room grew silent.
“If you don’t want to get married right away, we can wait. We just wanted you to know before you met him. Plus, marriage would be so practical.”
“He’s rich, you know. You wouldn’t have to work in that bakery of yours anymore. You’ll cook for one man from then on.”
“No, it’s not that.” She racked her brain for an excuse. Anything. She wasn’t leaving her pride and hard work behind for some kid that’s dated three of her friends. How can they act like her and Jongin are already in love when the last time they spoke was six months ago right before he cheated on his then girlfriend?
“He’s a loser, I agree. I don’t give you my blessing.” Joy decided this was a perfect moment to throw in her two cents.
“Joy!” Her aunt looked horrified. “Let’s all support Seulgi and her decision. This is good for our family!”
“I don’t want it. I’m not getting married,” and before her father could compromise, she added, “or even going to try to date him.”
“But why? This is amazing,” her brother objected.
Arranged marriages weren’t uncommon, especially in their family. That’s how her parents had met and they’ve been more or less happy their whole lives with their marriage. But she wasn’t her parents. Even if it felt selfish, she had plans. They might not be the most extraordinary goals, but they meant something to her. A husband was definitely on the list, but nowhere near the top. It had always felt more like a vague concept she knew she would have to deal with sometime in the far future. But this wasn’t the far future, this was now.
“I’m already with someone.” She blurted out the first thought that popped up. Joy nearly choked on her own spit.
“No way,” her cousin was red in the face.
“Yeah, well, it’s true. I just didn’t want to tell you yet, but we’re pretty serious.” She was so fucked.
Then, the doorbell rang.
“You keep that to yourself now,” her mother hissed between her teeth. A smile flashed back on her face as she swung the door open and welcomed the guests inside. “Hi! We’ve been waiting, especially Seulgi. We’ve just told her the amazing news.”
It was Jongin and his mother. She was so fucked.
“Aw, that’s so sweet. It was so nice of you to invite us.” His mother walked over to her with open arms and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so happy for us.”
Seulgi forced a smile. She looked at Jongin, who was already getting friendly with her dad. Again, she was so fucked.
“Do you two want to have some time alone…” Her aunt called out.
“Or we could just eat,” she interrupted. Everyone seemed to agree and they all sat down. Her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her to the spot in front of Jongin.
“So,” Chen piled vegetables on his plate. “I’m sure you two know each other quite well.”
“Not really,” Jongin visibly blushed. Why was he blushing?! What sort of acting skills did this man secretly possess? “We’ve had some mutual friends. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve hung out.” He looked over at her and smiled. “I think we’d get along well.”
She couldn’t believe what was happening. This felt like some sort of fever dream. Jongin and Seulgi both knew very well that the last time they met was at his ex’s party where she dumped a glass of wine on him for cheating on her.
“I guess we’ll have to see.” She smiled at him but her eyes reflected what she was really feeling. From his own smirk, she could tell he got the message.“But I’m sure we’ll instantly click.”
“This is lovely! I can’t wait…” His mother gushed. They spent the rest of the afternoon forcing the two to speak to each other and more than one attempt was made to convince them to go off alone. The awkward feeling in her chest didn’t fade away as the night went on, but instead held onto her with a tight grip that would definitely leave marks.
By the time the clock hit 6 p.m, Jongin and his mother mentioned they had to leave. Disagreement and displeasure filled the room, everyone insisting they stay longer (except for Joy, who left hours ago with some fake excuse about a work emergency - she never worked on weekends).
She felt somewhat relieved once Jongin closed the door behind him. This relief was sadly short lived - the idea of marriage hung above her head like the guillotine.
“You better break up with that boyfriend you brought up earlier,” her mother’s voice was stern. “Jongin is a good boy and he’ll make you happy.”
“I don’t like him and I’m not ready for marriage. You can’t do this to me now! I love my current partner” She exasperated. The hole she had started to dig got real deep, real fast. There was no backing away now.
None of them looked like they believed her. “Fine then. If you love him so much,” her mother leaned back in her chair, the first to speak. “Bring him over next week.”
Fuck. She made it worse.
“Fine.”
It was not fine. A boyfriend would not magically appear from thin air. You can’t just manifest a real person.
The tension in the air didn’t ease. Even after she left, her stomach coiled. There was little chance she could find a real relationship before next week. But maybe she could find a fake one. Lying to her family wasn’t exactly something Seulgi wanted to do, but one fake relationship wouldn’t hurt, and it would get them to stop fawning over Jongin.
The pastel mint green exterior of her bakery came into view. Standing impatiently at the entrance was the client from a few days ago. She sped up her pace to a light jog after noticing the time.
“I’ve been waiting for almost half an hour. What type of service is this?” Her cold voice cut through the chilly air.
“Yes, of course. I’ll get your cakes right away,” she mumbled an apology while taking out her keys. The woman’s glaring eyes never left her, sending the silent message for her to hurry up.
Quickly disappearing into the back, she went to fetch the order. Seulgi worked into the early hours of this morning to complete this order to perfection. It had been a while since she was so invested in something – possibly because she was afraid the witch would do something bad if they didn’t turn out right.
“I’m not going to murder you.” The witch pulled out her wallet casually from her long black trench coat.
“I’m sorry?” Was it that obvious? She could probably smell the fear coming off of her in waves.
“You look like you think I’m about to bite you.” She handed her the money. “I’m not some sort of vampire or animal.”
“I wasn’t-“ Seulgi tried correcting herself.
“You were.”
She cleared her throat and started packing the boxes in an attempt to ignore the embarrassment.
“Well, here you are. I hope you enjoy them!” She put her working smile back on.
The witch observed her from under her eyelashes, blinking only once. Silently, they stared at each other. Seulgi felt herself get lost in her eyes. She was staring straight into darkness, into space. Glittering stars swirled around, reflecting the clear night sky that would later arrive. The longer she stared, the farther she was transported into the deep magic that the witch held.
A short sigh brought Seulgi’s attention to her lips. She was wearing a thin layer of glossy lip balm, a stark difference from the dark red she was sporting last time. The bow of her mouth was tailored to perfection – exactly like the ones she gave her drawings.
“Are you still awake?” A manicured hand waved in front of her face. “The boxes?”
Great. She had been caught staring. The woman was waiting for her order and she was busy being a creep.
“Where’s your manager?” The question took her by surprise. “Or do you have some sort of review sheets laying around? The service here is seriously annoying.” The witch scoffed.
The sudden attitude switched Seulgi out of her dream state. “Actually, I’m the manager.” She pushed the boxes forward with a little too much aggression. “And if you had listened when I said I was short on time; we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Someone recommended this place to me – something about authenticity and warmth. What a bunch of bullshit,” she picked up her boxes and turned around.
“Warmth? What do you know about warmth?” She practically yelled. The witch stopped directly in her tracks with her hand on the door. It wasn’t like her to lose her composure like this but she was hanging by a thread.
“What?” She said slowly, her back still turned.
“You’ve been so mean. And rude. And I don’t care if you’re a customer or that you’ll never want to come back again,” Seulgi had had enough of everyone’s shit today. “But never tell me my baking isn’t authentic.” She expected the woman to just leave, instead she walked back over to the counter.
“Sure, whatever,” she put the boxes down and placed her hands palms down. She leaned forward; their faces were now too close for Seulgi’s comfort. Her heartbeat quickened with nervousness. It felt more like they were about to kiss then fight. She felt something flutter in her stomach. Wait. No. This was not the time. “But don’t yell at me.” Her voice dropped to a low whisper that did magical things to Seulgi’s body. Adrenaline rushed to her brain, leaving her dizzy and speechless.
“I hate it when people yell. Especially you humans.” Did they just get closer? Were their noses about to touch? “Control your emotions no matter how annoying your customer is being. Just because you’re not getting laid doesn’t mean you have to be a bitch.”
The hypocrisy? The nerve?
“You’re the bitch.”
Well, she was done for. Seulgi said a quick silent thank you and goodbye to her family for raising her and loving her. Would she be going to heaven or hell? Was there even an afterlife? Oh, how she wished to just, poof, become a pretty flower. A lilly perhaps? Or a daisy?
“I am not the bitch, I am that bitch. Which is why there’s not enough space in this universe for two of us. Go back to your little cupcakes and cookies and make sure you step down off of your high horse.” The witch backed up with a smoldering aura. She started to pick up her boxes again before Seulgi made an impulse decision. A shitty decision. Honestly, was she still even capable of making a good decision. Her mouth was moving before her brain even got to process what was happening.
...“Let’s date.”
Wow, she’d never heard silence quite this loud.
“Have you lost your mind?” The witch laughed in disbelief.
It was too late to back down now. Plus, it was actually not that bad of an idea. A girl and a wiccan? A recipe for disaster with her family. She just needed for her to agree and for this not to end up in disownment.
“No, it’ll be fake. I promise. Please, help me.”
“Why?” The woman was genuinely curious.
“I don’t want to get married. It’ll just be for a few weeks max, I swear. I need to get my family off of my back.” Please, please, please, say yes. Her eyes softened by a fraction, or maybe it was just Seulgi’s imagination.
“You don’t even know my name and now you want to date me?” She asked. “Do you even like girls?”
“Yes…” She sounded extremely unsure and not at all convincing. “I think I do.”
“You think you do? Listen, I’ve had my own fair share of relationships and I’m not going to be your little experiment just because you’re questioning. I have other priorities.”
“I’m not questioning! I promise, I know for sure. I can do something for you in return. I’ll pay you.” She couldn’t pay her, and she lied straight to her face. What’s worse, the witch probably knew that.
“I don’t think you can afford me,” she paused for a second. Arrogant remarks like these were not out of character from what Seulgi had experienced, she wasn’t sure she would be able to manage this attitude. “But if these cakes are any good, I’m sure we can come up with some compromise.” Then she turned and actually left. Just like every other time, the bright sound of the chimes followed the customer out.
Seulgi let out a deep breath and squatted, forehead pressed against the counter. She never directly got the woman’s name. In a moment of epiphany, she reached out to the receipt. Irene.
The girl’s name was Irene. It was pretty.