Chester Hectic Easter Holiday solo

IC DATE: April 10th, 2022

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Other people: Violet in Korean, Bold in English

“Eun-ji, say goodbye and come with me.” There was a clear impatience in her father's voice and the witch knew, whatever he needed to say must have been important. Either that or he was in a rush. “Bye Eun-ji. Come again.” The others waved at her with a smile. It felt good to be appreciated even for a little while. She waved back before the man ushered her outside.

Back in the staff room, it turned out it was both. Her father was informed about an emergency patient coming in so he was in a hurry but the task he would give her also carried a huge weight. The man looked guilty before even opening his mouth. “You know the stop we were supposed to make before going home?” The girl nodded, acknowledging his words without interrupting him. “We were supposed to go to my parents' house. The building will be torn down today so any leftover stuff needs to be packed and cleared out of the way. I thought I would be able to leave earlier but they really need me here and the movers will be waiting. Do you think you could go without me? There shouldn’t be much to do. I already packed most of it.” But I need you. Eun-ji thought bitterly but the words didn’t come out. “Sure,” she said instead. Her father sighed in relief then. “Perfect. The movers should be outside already. They will bring you there. Call me if you need anything.” The Ravenclaw didn’t quite trust herself to speak and so she opted for yet another nod. Apparently, that was sufficient enough for her father.

Standing in front of her grandparents’ home seemed unreal. It used to be her home too but now it was reduced to rubble. Only a small portion of it remained standing and she knew…It was her room. “Do you want us to stick around or should we come back later, miss?” One of the movers asked. Eun-ji forced herself to look at the guy. She was glad he asked. It would be terribly uncomfortable if they stuck around. “You can come back later.” She answered gratefully.

With the men gone, the witch finally entered the house…or well… whatever was left of it. Immediately her brain registered a bunch of familiar smells. It felt like a punch in the gut and she wondered how it was even possible that it stuck around for so long. Her father was right though. Most of the stuff was already crammed in the cardboard boxes stacked on the ground but there was still work to be done. The thing was, her feet seemed to be glued to the floor. Eun-ji stood at the door cataloguing all the little things she acclimated to see as unimportant. Now, all of the trinkets carried heavy weight of memories and things that used to be. Her grandfather’s sloppy wooden carvings, the unfinished sketches of the old couple, books she never really cared for. The witch felt guilty for not appreciating them sooner and to her absolute horror, her vision quickly became blurry. She was crying. Eun-ji desperately tried to wipe the tears away, but new slid down her cheeks before she could get rid of the old ones. Her knees buckled and she collapsed on the floor, choking back a sob. The sound was ugly and foreign to her ears but she found it impossible to stop it when more started crawling out of her throat. It was a long time coming she supposed but that didn’t make it any easier.

It felt like she was drowning. The ever smart Ravenclaw was suddenly very much lost. She was a heaving mess and didn’t know what to do about it. This kind of thing never happened before and the girl quickly realized, she didn’t want to be alone. That conclusion was new as well. Looking at her phone, she wondered whether there was someone she could talk to but the answer didn’t come easy.

Her parents were out of question and the sad truth was she had no muggle friends in Chester. Ye-jun would be terrified if he heard her voice right now. He knew her far too well and he would figure out something was up immediately. Charles came to mind for a brief moment but Eun-ji still didn't trust him 100% and he probably didn’t even own a phone. What about Aaron? (@Aaron Jones) The boy's name was conveniently right on top of her contact list and he offered to help if she ever needed it, didn't he? It sounded reasonable for about three seconds before her brain fully registered what she was doing. Eun-ji immediately hang up and dropped the phone as if it physically burnt her. It's fine. It was a brief lapse of judgement. Surely, the call didn't go through yet. She definitely didn't hear the ringing tone although that could have just been due to her being too out of it at the moment. Either way the situation was salvageable. Even if the call got through and the boy saw her number on the screen, she could just say she dialed him by mistake. Or perhaps he was at Hogwarts and wouldn't discover the missed call until summer. By then the call's meaning would be lost on him and she could just pretend she didn't even remember it. Yes...everything would be fine...

It was not that Eun-ji didn't trust Aaron. She did...maybe more than she should have. She just didn't like being vulnerable in front of others and more importantly, she would hate to become someone else's burden. The Hufflepuff had other friends and she was just happy to spend time around the boy. She could be a good company to him without pulling him down with her and he certainly never failed to be a good company to her so it was a win win situation. They could be friends without crossing the invisible line Eun-ji set for herself last summer. Because what if she let someone cross it, showed them everything and they still walked away? She wouldn’t hold it against them of course, after all who would want trouble themselves with that sort of mess? It would hurt though and she did not want to risk it. No matter, Eun-ji would allow herself to wail just this once then she would pull herself together like she always did and finish her job here. Perhaps this was what she needed. She wasn’t good at letting go, maybe a good old cry would make her feel better and she could move on. Not all at once for sure but slowly...yeah she could do slowly.

END of PART 2

IC DATE: April 11th, 2022

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Other people: Violet in Korean, Bold in English

Eun-ji didn’t go to see the house being torn down the next day. Her father did. “What about mom? Is she not going with you?” She asked. For once, Eleanor was home and it only made sense that she would go and support the man she loved. “No, she has…” Her dad paused, cautiously looking at the blonde woman next to him. “…important things to do. I’m sure she’ll explain once I’m gone.” Eleanor visibly cringed at that and Eun-ji couldn’t help but wonder what was going on between them. They seemed to be walking on eggshells, especially her mother. “I’ll see you in the evening.” And just like that, he was gone. The witch honestly didn’t know how he managed to be so brave. She didn’t tell either of them about her little breakdown but she was still very aware of it. I wish I had his courage.

“Eun-ji, honey.” Her mother’s voice swiftly brought her back to reality. “Yes?” She asked somewhat warily. Eleanor sounded very unsure of herself, which never meant anything good. “I asked you to come here this Easter because my boss invited me for dinner. You might still remember her…very elegant? Black hair?” Eun-ji had to rack her brain for a moment but eventually the name resurfaced from her memories. “Miss Olívia?” She asked curiously. Her mother seemed to be pleased to find out that she did indeed remember. As far as the Ravenclaw knew, the two women got along well. Both worked really hard too. “Yes, that’s the one.” Eun-ji still didn’t see what that had to do with her however. “Well…it’s kind of a mini dinner gala. Her daughter goes to the same school. In fact, you should be in the same year.” Ah I see. The witch wasn’t necessarily excited for the event. She handled social gatherings well sure but that didn’t mean she enjoyed them. “But if it’s just us an them…why call it a dinner gala?” The healer shifted her weight nervously. It appeared the worst hasn’t been said yet. “Well…my mother caught wind of the invitation and…well they’ll be coming too. I’m sorry.” She was sorry?! Oh no. Sorry was not cut it for that statement. “What? You brought me here from Hogwarts so I could attend dinner with THEM?” Eun-ji really couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wasn’t yelling but there was a clear betrayal in her voice. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” Her mother repeated. “You seem to be saying that a lot recently but I've never seen you make an actual effort to fix anything.” That was a low blow. The witch knew by the hurt that flickered in her mother’s eyes. Considering the distinct lack of reprimanding though, it was clear they both agreed with the statement. “I…it’s just three days. Please, you know how much I respect my supervisor. Will you help me? Just this one time?” Eun-ji huffed. Sure….just this one time. She thought bitterly. “I’m going to my room.” Not saying no was as good as her mom would get right now. She didn’t have strength for any more than that.

“Well well, look who didn’t even bother to come down and say hello.” The ear-splitting screech of a knife on a glass would have been more pleasant interruption of her reading than this. “As if you care.” Eun-ji muttered under her breath. The unwelcome guest looked displeased at her attitude. Then again, her aunt was constantly displeased by Eun-ji’s mere existence so what else was new. “What are you doing here anyway? You have your own house, don’t you?” Annabelle snorted before walking towards her table and grabbing something from the top drawer. “Don’t flatter yourself. I didn’t come to see you. I just left my best lipstick here.” Well that was not entirely true, was it? Mrs. Hunt gave it to Eun-ji when she taught her how to do her make-up, probably without asking her daughter if she could even take it (not that she ever asked anybody’s permission) but the young girl didn’t care. If her aunt missed it so much, she could have it. “Speaking of houses. The show was spectacular today. I was surprised we didn’t see you at the site when we passed by. A bit too much dust for my liking though.” This finally made Eun-ji turn around and look at the older woman. She was really enjoying this wasn’t she? How could someone be so vile?

“Alright, that’s it. Get out.” The Ravenclaw hissed dangerously. When Annabelle didn’t move, Eun-ji stood up from her bed and tossed a pillow at her. It was not a gentle toss either. “How dare you?!” Now they were both fuming. The younger girl usually resorted to passive aggression and witty remarks but cleaning the house yesterday felt like burying her grandmother all over again and this pathetic excuse of a human being had the audacity to make fun of it all? A wave of disgust washed over her but she still tried to calm herself down. Hoping the woman would finally get the hint and leave, she sat back at the table facing away from her. Well…she was wrong. She could feel how wrong she was the moment the pillow hit her back, forcing her head towards the table. “Ow.” Admittedly, it was probably not her aunt’s intention but Eun-ji was bleeding. For all her cautiousness not to hurt her niece so her mother wouldn’t be mad, she seemed to have a talent for doing just that accidentally. The young girl didn’t feel any pain however. She was too angry. “I’ve had up to here with you!” For the first time in her life, Eun-ji was yelling at an adult and she didn’t care. She was furious. Not just at her. The witch was angry at the whole world around her. Sickened by everyone and everything, even her own behaviour as of late. “Yeah..well right back at you, you little pest!” There was a shuffling coming up from downstairs. Her mother and grandmother must heard the yelling. Mrs. Hunt didn’t bother to come upstairs however. Eleanor was the only one that rushed through the door.

“Stop it! Both of you!” It was a miracle the two even heard her over their own screeching. Neither of them obviously felt bad about the commotion either. “She started it! Why do you let her poke at our family’s misfortune? They were the ones to cause it, shouldn’t they have at least the decency to shut up about it?!” Her mother looked horrified. She looked at her bleeding nose then at her sister all dishevelled and red in the face. Eun-ji wasn’t sure what shocked her the most. The state they were in or the words she was currently hearing. “Get out Belle! Mother is waiting and she didn’t look very happy. Should I tell her what you did to the Hunt’s family future?” She pointed at Eun-ji’s nose, clear warning in case she wasn’t willing to cooperate. Thankfully, it was enough to get her sister out of the room with nothing but one last childish stomp and angry huff. The young witch was relieved to see her figure disappear around the corner but she couldn’t bring herself to relax just yet. Adrenaline was running high and she felt strangely out of breath.

“What has gotten into you? I don’t think I ever heard you yell at anybody.” Her mother finally broke the heavy silence. “Gotten into ME? Do you even know what she said to me? Should I tell you?” The older woman hesitated for a moment then shook her head and pulled out her wand instead. After all, she had grown up with Annabelle and she probably knew just how nasty she could be. “Come on, let me fix this first.” A quick well-aimed episkey fixed Eun-ji’s nose within a blink of an eye but there was still blood all over her face and feathers in her hair. The last revenge of her pillow she supposed. “I’ll just…go clean myself up and take Morgana for a walk. I think I need some air.” Yes…fresh air would do her good.

END of PART 3

IC DATE: April 12th, 2022

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Other people: Violet in Korean, Bold in English

Eun-ji was definitely an early bird. She was someone to wake up first, make breakfast and see her parents off to work. Today however, she just didn’t feel like doing any of that. Her limbs were heavy and surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the giant Belgian Sheepdog sprawled across her legs. Mordred was a warm weight on her chest purring contentedly as he would every night, which was not helping either. It was not like Eun-ji did some hard exercise recently but the emotional exhaustion could apparently do just as much damage as the physical one.

“Wake up looser; we are going on a trip.” A familiar voice cut through her hazy thoughts. The witch snorted at the reference. Poor guy, was he really forced to watch that movie so many times he even remembered the lines? Wait…a trip? What was he talking about? Well now she was fully awake. “You are not at work…What do you mean a trip? It’s Tuesday. Isn’t it Tuesday?” Her dad frowned at that, he was not angry at her though. “Well now you are just making me sound like a horrible father. I took a day off and you better get ready fast because we have a long way to go young lady.” Eun-ji didn’t dare to remind him that it has been years since he last took a day off. Instead, she pinched herself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t. “Sorry kids, I have to go.” The Ravenclaw apologised to her fluffy friends as she jumped out of the bed. They were not pleased about that for sure but there was no time to waste.

“Where are we going? Why are we going?” Eun-ji asked once they both got in the car. The man raised his eyebrows. He looked confused though he shouldn’t have been. His daughter was happy with the unexpected turn of events but it was unexpected. Edward seemed to realise where she was coming from soon after. He sighed and started the car, getting it out of the driveway and on the road before finally speaking again. “I heard what happened yesterday…” The witch blushed with shame. She really hoped her mother wouldn’t tell him. Was he very disappointed? She truly hated it when he was. “I don’t blame you but I’m worried about you. I’m also sorry I wasn’t there.” Oh…well today was really full of surprises. “I’m rather glad you weren’t there to be honest. It wasn’t one of my proudest moments.” Eun-ji admitted begrudgingly. Her father still didn’t look disappointed however so that was good. “Eun-ji ya, you are allowed to stand up for yourself when nobody else does it for you. It’s not always a bad thing to lose temper and I know you wouldn’t if that woman didn’t give you a proper reason.” Wow and wasn’t that just what she needed to hear? The young girl almost felt like crying again but she wouldn’t do that. Today was finally a good day and she was not about to ruin that. “Thank you dad,” she said instead, making the driver smile in return.

“New Malden?” Her father grinned proudly. “Yep…I figured we could use a little Korean trip. I know the actual thing would be better but I don’t think we will be able to do that in the near future so this is the next best thing.” Eun-ji nodded enthusiastically. This was perfect. It was like entering a completely different world and yet it was SO familiar. The language, the smells... She always wanted to come here but her parents never had time to do so. “Am I going to be spoiled today? Can I eat anything I want? Tteokbokki? Japchae? Ohh…can we go for a Korean barbecue?” Her father chuckled at her excitement. The mood seemed to improve tenfold for both of them. Seeing the man smile, the Ravenclaw couldn’t help but smile right back. She only wished it could be always like that. “Yes…yes we can. I’m actually craving some myself. Let’s go stuff ourselves and raid all the shops. I’m sure the Korean ajumas (old ladies) will have plenty clothes your grandmother will absolutely hate.” Ooh now there was an idea. This was going to be so much fun!

END of PART 4

IC DATE: April 15th, 2022 Mentioning: @Cassandra Ironwoods

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Other people: Violet in Korean, Bold in English

The previous two days at home were mercifully uneventful. Today however, would be messy for sure due to which, Eun-ji was in a rather sour mood. She liked Mrs. Olivia just fine but the fact that the Hunts would join them didn't sit well with her...to put it lightly. On top of all that, her father decided not to go. He had no desire to share one table with people that constantly belittled him and the Ravenclaw understood that. Still, she would have loved to have him there as a support. "You sure you don't want to go?" She tried one the last time but the reply didn't change. "You better go get changed child. Ironwoods are pretty reputable family; do not embarrass me in front of them." Her grandfather interrupted the conversation, his tone emotionless and cold as always. "Whoa whoa." Eun-ji turned to her mother. "Your boss' family name is Ironwoods?" Surely, she couldn't be THAT unlucky, right?

Eleanor blinked in surprise. She seemed confused by her strong reaction. "Oh yes, I forgot to remind you. I'm guessing you recognize the name then? That's great I knew you two would be friends." Oh...she couldn't have been more wrong about that one. "No mum...I...maybe it's better if I don't go after all." Eun-ji frowned then. "I mean...I don't want to go. I'll just stay here with my dad." She corrected her phrasing. Immediately, a dramatic sigh echoed through the living room. Of course, her grandmother wouldn't just let it go. "Honestly Eleanor did you forget to teach her manners? Do I have to do everything around here?" She was wrong. Eun-ji was raised incredibly well. Her late grandma did an impeccable job in that regard but sometimes it was better to be a bit rebellious. She was trying to prevent a huge disaster thank you very much. "Stop spouting nonsense and go get changed already. We are not going to be late because of you." The witch gritted her teeth. There was no sense in arguing with that old hag. Fine! You want me to get changed? I will get changed.

Stomping up the stairs and to her room, Eun-ji immediately dove into her closet and reached for the new clothes she brought during her trip to New Malden. Her father helped her chose these precisely because the Hunts would definitely hate them. To be fair, the dress itself wasn't horrible just a tad too much perhaps but adding the giant hat and red lipstick into the mix created an absolutely ridiculous outfit. Let's see if they still want me to go, she grinned at her mirror reflection before dramatically heading back downstairs.

As expected, Eun-ji was greeted by a collective gasp of horror, though she was fairly sure her father snorted in amusement first. Her mother also didn't seem angry per se but it was clear she was not approving of her antics. She most likely enjoyed seeing her parents all riled up but that didn't change the fact that this dinner invitation came from someone she deeply respected. "You can't be serious." This time it was her aunt that just had to make a comment. "What? You wanted to make an impression, no?" She asked, feigning innocence. The Hunts all looked positively livid now. It was simultaneously funny and terrifying. "You little..." Her grandmother didn't get to finish the sentence however. Instead, Eun-ji's father stepped in. "Come on Eun-ji. Wouldn’t you rather wear something comfortable?" He tried to coax her into behaving normally. The Ravenclaw wasn’t quite ready for that though. She was beyond annoyed and couldn’t even imagine sitting at one table with Cassandra. "I feel most comfortable naked." She answered nonchalantly, which in turn made her father incredibly flustered. He was a very conservative man and he was not used to this side of his daughter. She was always so calm and polite around him. "I get why you are doing this, I really do but...think of your mother. This is an important dinner for her. Just bear with it for couple hours, okay?" It wasn't fair. Why was she always the one that had to bear with it? Eun-ji wanted to protest further but seeing her father's pleading eyes, she simply couldn't deny him anything. Especially after what he did for her two days ago. "Fine." The girl huffed in response. She was already having a terrible time and they haven’t even left the house yet.

END of PART 5 Continuing of this event HERE