9 Apr 2021, 12:57
Worst Holiday ever!
IC Date March 28th 2021 (Text in red – speaking in Korean)
Carolyn wasn’t supposed to go home for Easter Holiday. Any letter she got from home till now said not to come back until the end of the school year. However those letters were very scarse and made her extremely anxious. Her parents promised to keep her updated yet other than ordering her to stay away, they didn’t actually provide much information. Her injured grandma gave her more intel in one letter than either of them did in any of theirs. And so Carolyn didn’t bother to inform them about her decision either. She knew they would not approve of the trip anyway and she desperately wanted to see her paternal grandparents. This was also why Carolyn didn’t go straight home after arriving to Chester. If she did, her parents would no doubt prevent her from going anywhere. Instead she redirected her steps to The Countess of Chester Hospital. This was her only chance to check up on the old Korean couple.
“Hello Mary,” the young witch smiled at the familiar woman behind the reception desk. It has been some time since she last visited but she was here often enough to be remembered. “Oh my…Carolyn. It’s so lovely to see you. I almost didn’t recognize you!” The blonde exclaimed cheerfully then as if remembering something, her expression turned sour. “Are you here to see your grandparents? Should I call Dr. Lee?” Carolyn slowly shook her head. As much as she wanted to see her dad, it probably wasn’t the best idea at the moment. “No need…I’m sure he is busy. I can go in myself. Just point me in the right direction.” Mary hesitated for a moment, probably wondering whether it was a good idea to let her go alone but in the end she relented and gave her the information she needed. “Thank you,” she replied gratefully. Fortunately she was almost 13 years old now and was no longer considered too young by the adults that recognized her. They knew she could handle herself just fine.
“Hello?” Carolyn opened the door rather hesitantly. She was eager to go in but feared what sight might welcome her. “Eunji? Is that you?” Of course her grandma would recognize her immediately. It was nice to hear the familiar voice calling out to her but oh did she sound weak…She LOOKS weak too, Carolyn’s brain supplied almost immediately upon seeing the older woman up close. “Halmoni!” She smiled at the patient, desperately trying to keep her composure. The witch was good at that although lately she sometimes felt it was much harder than it used to be. “I didn’t know you were coming back for the holidays. How is school?” Carolyn sat down beside the hospital bed eyeing the neighboring one as well. That one belonged to her grandfather and it appeared he was still asleep. The man looked truly pitiful with all the machines and tubes attached to his body. He lost a lot of weight too it seemed. “The old geezer refuses to wake up.” Her grandma confirmed grumpily. Some people may have found her words harsh but Carolyn knew she was just hiding her sadness behind the insults. “School is fine. I just wanted to check on you. No one is really telling me anything…I was worried.” She opted not to comment on her grandpa’s situation and answer the question asked. “You should just concentrate on your studies and let the adults handle the situation. I don’t know much either but seeing your father’s face I assume the situation is not good. I’m surprised, they let you come back.” The girl grimaced at the last sentence. She didn’t want to lie to her grandma even if that meant she would be scolded by the woman. “You did not tell them?” How annoyingly perceptive. “That’s it young lady. I’m calling your father.” She added immediately and reached for the call button. There was no sense in arguing, Carolyn could never win against her grandma. No one could.
It took a mere couple seconds before a nurse appeared. Everybody probably knew who the old couple was and kept a close eye on them. “How can I help?” She asked politely, looking somewhat wary. “Bring my son,” her grandma said with a thick accent. Nevertheless, the nurse understood her request and swiftly left the room. She probably heard it many times before. Carolyn sighed. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have gone to see him afterwards.” She tried to reason with the woman. “I don’t want to hear it. It might not be safe for you here.” She said resolutely, despite how tired she obviously was. The doors to the hospital room opened again just a minute later, revealing her very surprised father. In fact, his face was a mixture of several emotions. Other than the apparent surprise, he also seemed somewhat panicked and what was quite unusual, also angry. “Outside…NOW!” He ordered immediately and proceeded to leave the room.
Carolyn followed the man wordlessly until they reached a relative safety of his office. “What are you doing here?” Her father usually spoke to her in English but used Korean when his parents were around or when he didn’t want others to hear. This was a private conversation and it would be awkward if anybody was to walk in on them. The young witch felt a bit guilty but there was a lingering anger beneath that shame. She was incredibly frustrated with the situation. “Well…you can’t really blame me. You promised to keep me posted but most of the time I couldn’t reach you at all and if you did write it was just to tell me not to come back until the school year is over.” This felt weird. They rarely argued, both were known for their calm and reasonable nature. “And yet here you are…” He pointed out immediately. “Yes, of course I came. Would you be able to sit still, knowing your family was in danger but hearing no news for almost a year?” That seemed to somewhat placate her father. He deeply cared about his family and so he probably understood how she felt now. He still looked worried though. “You are young, you shouldn’t have to worry about such things. We didn’t want you here because the Hunts are still around. We were trying to make our home safe again before you return.” She understood his reasoning as well and to be perfectly honest, did not want to deal with her newfound relatives either but life was not always easy. She understood that very well. “Dad, it’s my home too. You can’t shut me out and expect me to be okay with it. What if something terrible happened? It would be hard to hear it but I would be devastated if you didn’t tell me.” The doctor rubbed his eyes in resignation. He looked exhausted. “Something terrible already happened though, didn’t it?” He was no doubt referring to his parents now. He loved them dearly and seeing them suffer must have hurt him a great deal. “How is grandpa doing?” Carolyn asked carefully. The question brought a new wave of worry and sadness into her father’s face. “Not good…” He shook his head, finally being honest with his daughter. “You should know, even if he wakes up it’s highly unlikely that his brain remains unaffected. He might become an entirely different person…might not even recognize us.” The witch suspected as much based on her grandma’s letter but hearing it from her father was so much worse. She really wanted to cry but then her father looked like he was on the verge of tears as well and it wouldn’t be fair to trouble him further. Same as her, he was very good at hiding his emotions. If he let himself look this vulnerable, the situation must have been bad.
There was a moment of silence before Carolyn finally decided to go in for a hug. It was clear her father was in desperate need of comfort. Physical affection was not common between the Korean members of the family but this was a special occasion and Sylvain did try to show her hugging was not that hard. “I’m sure he will wake up soon. He is stubborn enough.” The doctor nodded. “It runs in the family,” he confirmed before letting go. “I’ll take you home although I can’t promise you’ll be comfortable there... at least your mother keeps the woman in check…to an extent.” He sounded a bit unsure but Carolyn wasn’t about to argue. She did want to see her mother and Morgana. “Alright, don’t worry it’s just couple days and then I will go back to school.”
Her father was right. The moment of happiness when she was greeted by the Belgian sheepdog in the garden was very brief. Once she entered the house, she was greeted by her mother and her maternal grandmother fighting. The air felt unnaturally cold and she was less than happy when the attention steered towards her. “What is the mongrel doing here?” She spat out, receiving a murderous look from her mother in return. Eleanor was no doubt surprised by her daughter's arrival but she didn’t let it show. “She lives here…unlike you.” Carolyn nodded not trusting herself to speak just yet. “Well…I suppose I can use the time to teach her some useful things.” The woman completely ignored her mother's remark, inspecting the young witch carefully as if she seen her for the first time. “At least she’s pretty…” Her mother looked horrified but then she knew the woman well and probably already imagined some devious plan coming into play. Which is most likely true… “Well, are you going to stand there the whole day? Come on in girl.” Carolyn huffed, Anemone was indeed not living in their house but that obviously didn’t stop her from acting like she owned the place. This is going to be the worst holiday ever, isn’t it?
Last edited by Eun-ji Lee Hunt on 3 May 2021, 12:51, edited 1 time in total.
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
11 Apr 2021, 17:09
Worst Holiday ever!
IC Date First half of the Easter/Spring break 2021 (Text in red – speaking in Korean)
“Do children have to be useful to their parents?,” Carolyn asked after four days of dealing with her maternal grandmother. That was precisely what she deducted from all her lectures so far. There seemed to be little to learn about love or kindness in her family and she could now understand why her mother chose to run away from them. Anemone laughed, looking fairly amused by her words, which should have been a confusing reaction but the young witch found it quite fitting. She decided early on that there was no way she would ever understand that woman or rather she didn’t want to. It felt like her mind would have to be as corrupted as hers in order to do so. “And here I thought you were going to be boring.” The older woman smirked coldly while her daughter rolled her eyes. Annabelle hated Carolyn’s guts with passion… that much was clear right from the start. To Anemone, she could be potentially useful but her aunt had no plans for her. If anything, she was a competition. Her mother spoiled her rotten and now she was no longer the center of her attention. “Darling, I only ever keep things that are useful. Why would I waste so much time on anything that was not?” Things? Carolyn frowned. This woman’s logic was truly twisted. And why was it that any words of endearment sounded like a poison when coming out from her mouth? It was both admirable and horrifying. Why do I have to suffer such person in my home? She questioned for what seemed like a millionth time.
"I don't want to leave you alone with her but I have already taken too much time off work. I can't stay here anymore. Not to mention she might drive me insane. I had enough of her and my sister for the rest of my life." Carolyn remembered the conversation with her mother clearly and she couldn't agree more. Still how could she have left her alone with the hag when she thought as much? It was true that with her paternal grandparents in hospital, there was no one else to check in on her but the young girl doubted fending for herself could be any worse than this. Her maternal grandmother took it upon herself to re-educate her and try to make her question everything her parents taught her so far. Thankfully, she was smart enough to see what the woman was doing although she had to admit to have pondered about some of her lessons longer than she should have. Anemone had a way with words and according to her mother, she was very good at getting under your skin. The young Ravenclaw could see that now and she honestly started to worry the woman might get to her in the long run. “Why do you suffer her then?” She nodded towards her aunt. “I thought she ceased to be useful to you hence your being here?” It was a cruel statement and so unlike Carolyn. It felt wrong. “I know we taught you to be calm and nice when dealing with other people but you might have to approach my mother differently. She is someone that doesn’t care about other people’s feelings and you might have to do the same in order to stand your ground. You can’t show any weakness in front of her.” Once again her mother’s wise words rang through her mind. She really wished she was here to help.
“Yes, that was a rather…disappointing development.” The older woman finally responded, showing no shame in her statement whatsoever. Carolyn took a chance to look at her aunt, who was sitting on the nearby sofa. She had a dangerous look in her eyes but said nothing in her defense. “Still…she married well and was raised right so she can still be of use.” Anemone shrugged. “Which reminds me, you’ve got a letter from Charles. Shame you didn’t let us know you were coming, I’m sure he would love to visit as well.” Carolyn was sure the opposite was true. He was probably thankful for her unannounced appearance, that way he had an excuse not to show up. They had a mutual understanding and she had nothing against the boy but it would be very awkward to have him here. He no doubt thought the same. “Well never mind, he will be here for summer. You should learn to keep your appearance before then. Your face is pretty but you dress so plain. Here, I bought you a present.” The woman handed her both the letter and a nice jewelry box. The young girl had no desire to keep any presents from her but there was no way to push that belief upon her proud grandmother. Sighing she slowly opened the box only to discover a golden necklace with a butterfly pendant. Carolyn hated it. It’s a coincidence….there is no way she knew and did that on purpose. She thought defiantly. She had only written to her mother about the painful departure of her friend and her love for butterflies. Anemone couldn’t have known although her expression WAS incredibly smug. “How about we leave the dirty cocoon behind and make you a perfect little butterfly huh? How about… African giant swallowtail? Heard about that one?” The young girl shook her head. She was in no mood to entertain her grandmother anymore. “Mi-chin nyeon.” meaning crazy b*** This may have been the very first time Carolyn had used such profane language. She did insult some bullies in the past but she always did it in a clever way instead of calling them names. If her paternal grandma heard her just now, she would probably smack her head. Swearing was not allowed…even if the other party couldn’t understand. Well... her grandma swore an awful lot but apparently, she lived long enough to do so.
Now it was Anemone’s turn to frown. She did not understand Korean for sure however, she was smart enough to know her granddaughter was not complimenting her. “I’ll go read my letter. I should probably write back too.” Carolyn interrupted the tense silence quickly. This was her chance to escape before both women exploded on her.
Back in her room, the young witch hugged her two fluffy friends. They were the only source of comfort to her these days. She threw the jewelry box on the bed leaving Mordred to play with it. It was probably expensive but she couldn’t care less. Morgana licked her hand gently, no doubt recognising her owner's distress. “Good girl.” She praised the dog sweetly. Shame, she couldn't bring her to Hogwarts. Carolyn always missed her but now with the Hunts around, she also worried for her safety. Against her better judgement, she soon found herself searching her butterfly encyclopedia. She bought the book last summer, hoping to learn more about Elspeth’s hobby. It turned out to be a wasted effort but she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away. …The females show themselves less, continually flying high above the tree tops. This butterfly has no natural enemies because it is very toxic. The raven-haired girl slammed the book closed. Of course she would choose a poisonous one. What did she expect? With another sigh, she picked up the letter from Charles. “Let’s hope this reading will be a bit more pleasant.” She muttered under her nose.
Dear Carolyn,
I heard you are home for the Easter. Your grandmother wasted no time to inform my parents and request my presence. Thanks to you though, I was able to convince them it was too last minute and I’d prefer to stay at Ilvermorny. For now, it worked but I will have to show up during summer. I hope it won’t be too inconvenient for you. It’s just…I don’t really have a say in that matter and I suppose neither do you. Knowing Mrs. Hunt you are probably not having the greatest holiday at the moment but perhaps it’s good that you came. They say you should know your enemies well in order to defeat them. I sure hope she doesn’t read my letter, apparently she likes to do just that.
Carolyn suspected that was the case already but it didn’t feel good to hear it from somebody else.
Now that I think about it, I probably know her better than you do? Considering we are neighbors and all that. Perhaps I could tell you more? It might not be a good idea to send the letters home though. Is it okay to send some while you are at Hogwarts? I figured if I’m to come and see you during summer holiday, it might be a good idea to get to know each other better. Might make things a bit less awkward, don’t you think? You can write me back…or don’t if you don’t feel like it. I’ll just assume you are not on board with the idea then. Anyway, I hope you’ll survive these couple days.
Sincerely,
Charles M.
Carolyn decided to burn the letter afterwards just in case but she did reply to the boy, making sure her grandmother wasn’t around when she did. It was still hard to tell what would become of them but Charles did seem to sympathise with her and she felt like he was also trapped. He sounded smart and sincere. Whether it was the case would have to be determined later, she supposed. For now, they could keep in touch until they could form an opinion on each other. It would be nice if they became friends but Carolyn didn’t dare to hope for such thing just yet. I will have to wait and see…
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
3 May 2021, 12:51
Worst Holiday ever!
IC Date Second half of the Easter/Spring break 2021 (Text in red – speaking in Korean)
Carolyn’s holiday was simply miserable and occasionally, she regretted not listening to her parents and coming back. Still, she got to see her grandparents so it was somewhat worth it. Her maternal grandmother took it upon herself to change her wardrobe drastically and even forced the poor girl to start wearing makeup occasionally. Sure it looked pretty but it was annoying and unnecessary at her age.
“You are wearing lipstick,” her Korean grandma commented during one of her hospital visits. She had that typical disapproving expression on her face. The young girl couldn’t help but squirm under her watchful gaze. “Yes…Mrs. Hunt made me. She wouldn’t let me leave the house without looking proper,” she explained, making sure to put air quotes to the word proper giving a clear indication of what she thought about the matter. It was quite frankly ridiculous. “Nonsense, you are barely 13. This won’t do…I should have a good talk with that witch!” Well, that was not the best insult, considering the woman was indeed a witch but Carolyn had no desire to explain that to her grandma. As far as she was concerned, her granddaughter attended a boarding school in Scotland. She already disapproved of her parents’ relationship if she knew about the magic world, it would surely only make things worse. Not to mention, they were probably far too old to understand this whole other world even existed. “Just leave it grandma. She will be gone eventually and she wouldn’t understand a word you’re saying anyway.” She also wouldn’t care, her brain supplied bitterly.
The truth was, Mrs. Hunt didn’t care about anyone’s opinion. She laid her thoughts as simple facts and pretended not to hear anything that went against them. Her mother warned her about this and how manipulative the woman was but there was not much Carolyn could do about it except trying to avoid her like a plague. “In any case, I’m not spending that much time with her. I’m studying, attending my ballet classes and spending a lot of time outside with Morgana. She tried to placate the old woman. That much was truth yet the time she spent with her other grandma still felt like eternity to her. “So you are overworking yourself then…” Well that was new, Carolyn didn’t think such word was even in her dictionary. “Honestly, what is your mother doing leaving you with that woman? I bet you haven’t had a proper meal since you came back. Then again, my son is not any better…always hanging here as if he is the only doctor on the planet.” The raven haired girl sighed. She had to admit she agreed with her grandma on this one. Her parents were always busy but since the Hunts appeared, they seemed to be working even harder, which she didn’t even think could be possible. Still, she didn’t like it when her favorite grandma badmouthed her parents. It felt wrong. “Don’t worry about that. You gave me your cook book, remember? I can cook for myself now.” The patient frowned but the “You shouldn’t have to” remained unsaid. “Well, I have to go now but I will stop by again before I leave, okay?” Her grandma nodded waving her hand towards the door. She was not someone to care for warm goodbyes.
The rest of the holiday went as before. She was constantly picked on by either Mrs. Hunt or her aunt. Carolyn was feeling inferior in her own home and she hated it. Anabelle even sneaked into her room at one point and burned her whole sketchbook. The young witch was devastated and yelled at the culprit but it was clear the woman didn't care. It was probably a revenge for the conversation she had with her grandmother earlier. Carolyn listened to Mrs. Hunt's lectures with apparent disgust but didn’t know how to stand up for herself just yet. She tried couple of times but the woman merely laughed at her, which made her feel even worse. What truly worried her though was the subtle threats she made here and there. She said it was only a joke every time yet it was very clear to Carolyn that it wasn’t. She especially hated Morgana and the feeling was mutual, which caused a considerable tension among the two and the young witch started to worry about her dog’s safety. I need to tell my parents to keep an eye on her…if they ever bother showing up. Quite frankly, she couldn’t wait to leave the house but she still worried what would happen after she did.
“Promise me, you'll keep an eye on Morgana. I know for a fact that woman woudn’t have any issue hurting her.” Carolyn begged her father before boarding the train. Honestly, she was surprised he even offered to take her to the station but she decided not to question him. It would only make him feel guilty. “Also if it’s not too much trouble, the Blossom ball is coming and I don’t have any dress. I refuse to wear anything Mrs. Hunts sends me this time.” The doctor standing next to her frowned upon hearing her words. “She sent you one before?” He questioned, clearly confused. It was a bit sad that he didn’t know what was happening in his daughter’s life but Carolyn tried her best not to blame him. His parents were in hospital after all. “Yes…for the masquerade…it’s all in the past though, don’t worry about it.” It was very clear her father was very worried about it but he was not good at voicing his feelings and his logical side probably evaluated that it was indeed way too late to do something anyway. “Alright, I’ll tell your mother and we’ll figure something out,” he said instead. “We’ll try to write more often as well.” Carolyn noted the word ‘try’ and swallowed the biting remark that they only written her twice so far so it shouldn’t be too difficult. “Thank you,” she said instead. “Take care of yourself…and say hi to mom for me.” The man nodded, wishing her good luck with her studies as expected and then let his daughter board the Hogwarts express. He didn’t even wait for it to leave before walking away. Carolyn never felt more alone.
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee